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THE SHED (reimagined)

Head On Photo Festival 2024
Peter Solness
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Peter Solness
This event has concluded
Dates: -
Location: Art Atrium 48, Level 1/48 Alfred Street South, Milsons Point NSW 2061, Australia
Hours:
Entry Fee: Free
Exhibition Event:
Official Opening 13/11/2024 6:00 pm

THE SHED (reimagined) is a visual reinterpretation of the iconic Australian rural structure of a shearing shed. The series addresses the spaces and makes suggestions via the abstract introduction of light energy, of the purpose of a shearing shed, and how it is designed to create maximum productivity of wool from a sheep property. THE SHED is not meant to be a factual documentation but an opportunity to explore photographs that explore whimsy and the non-literal.
For visitors to shearing sheds, there is always a ghostly quality, as these spaces only function during certain times of the year. If you stand alone in these sheds outside of shearing season, the echoing sounds of loose corrugated iron sheets flapping in the breeze and the residual smell of lanolin in the worn timbers evoke imaginings of roustabouts, shearers, cooks, and wool classers, all shouting orders over the bleating sheep, in the heat of a day’s work.

This series also draws on famous artworks such as Tom Roberts’ 1890 painting, ‘Shearing the Rams,’ and recasts contemporary farm workers in poses like those represented in that classic and much-revered artwork. The shed is a place little-touched by the impact of modern digital technology. The character of the structure; its timbers, gates, chutes, and aged equipment are rich photographic subjects.

Peter Solness

Peter Solness is a multi-award-winning photographer, artist, educator, and writer who began his 40-year photography career contributing surfing photos to Surfing World and Tracks magazine in the 1970s. With the advent of digital photography in the mid-2000s, Solness became a pioneer of the photographic technique of light painting, which involves mounting a camera on a tripod and working in darkness during long camera exposures of between 4 to 60 seconds. These long-exposure times allow chosen subjects to be hand-illuminated using small torches to create otherworldly effects not generally associated with traditional photography.
An enthusiastic teacher and exponent of light painting as an art form, Solness runs regular workshops and presentations at The National Art School, TAFE colleges, and the Head On and Ballarat International Foto Biennale Festivals, as well as mounting large-scale public light events for community celebrations such as Science Week in 2015 and 2018. Recently, Solness has developed specialist light painting workshops for secondary and primary school students as a way to inspire younger audiences.

This event has concluded
Dates: -
Location: Art Atrium 48, Level 1/48 Alfred Street South, Milsons Point NSW 2061, Australia
Hours:
Entry Fee: Free
Exhibition Event:
Official Opening 13/11/2024 6:00 pm
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Stephen Godfrey

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Image detail: Andrea Agostini