By Benjamin Clay — 30 April, 2020
we are the crowd we’re c-coming out got my flash on, it’s true need that picture of you it’s so magical we’d be so fantastical In six short lines, Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi distils many generations of flirtation with photography. Touching on notions of technological mediation, visibility, and the lens’ relationship with desire, the late 2000s dance…
By Hannah Jenkins — 6 March, 2020
͞ ͎͉̙̍ͨ́ ͓̞̱̼̜̳̘͡ ̬͒ ͈̬̥ͤ͆͆ ̫̱̘̦̝͙̹̐ͣ͒̌͆ͯ̾̕ ͖͉̠̗̥͙̲͌̒ͫ̅̃̔̈́ ̷̙̰̯̯̙̬̱̃̄ ̶̨̜͙̗̣̱͕͎͇̲̥̱̝͒̎͆͊ ̴̞͓͉͈̯̖̬̿͑̌̿͊̔̔̄̑̚͝͝ͅ ̷̡̧̱̪̟͚͕̗͖̩̯͍͓͕͖͉̠̗̥͙̲̏̅̆͌̾̏̂͌̅́͌̒ͫ̅̃̔̈́͘ ͞ ͎͉̙̍ͨ́ ̷̢̮͉̱̜́̌͛̈́͊͆̈́̈̏͘͠ ̷̝͋̇̑̌̑̀ ̶̧̺̘̬̰̹͌ ̶̪̦̥̽͌̓̋̂͛̇̀͋̿̇̈̈́͆͝ͅ ̷̧̛͚͉͎̿̾̚͠ ̵̰̲͉͋̏̈̓̅̑̿͝ ̶̤̹̤͍͕̜̱̭͉̜̣̮̬̐͜ ̶̥̞́̃̃̊͗͑̒̈́̽̾̓͜͝ ̶͍̫̗͛̍͂͌̈́̂͘͝ͅ ̶̙̃̓̾̐͑̀̀̑͛̕͝ ̷̙̰̯̯̙̬̱̃̄ ̶̨̜͙̗̣̱͕͎͇̲̥̱̝͒̎͆͊ ̴̞͓͉͈̯̖̬̿͑̌̿͊̔̔̄̑̚͝͝ͅ ̷̡̧̱̪̟͚͕̗͖̩̯͍͓͕͖͉̠̗̥͙̲̏̅̆͌̾̏̂͌̅́͌̒ͫ̅̃̔̈́͘ ͞ ͎͉̙̍ͨ́ ͓̞̱̼̜̳̘͡ ̬͒ ͈̬̥ͤ͆͆ ̫̱̘̦̝͙̹̐ͣ͒̌͆ͯ̾̕ ͖͉̠̗̥͙̲͌̒ͫ̅̃̔̈́ ̷̝͋̇̑̌̑̀ ̶̧̺̘̬̰̹͌ ̶̪̦̥̽͌̓̋̂͛̇̀͋̿̇̈̈́͆͝ͅ ̷̧̛͚͉͎̿̾̚͠ ̵̰̲͉͋̏̈̓̅̑̿͝ ̶̤̹̤͍͕̜̱̭͉̜̣̮̬̐͜ ̶̥̞́̃̃̊͗͑̒̈́̽̾̓͜͝ ̶͍̫̗͛̍͂͌̈́̂͘͝ͅ ̶̙̃̓̾̐͑̀̀̑͛̕͝ ̷̙̰̯̯̙̬̱̃̄ ̶̨̜͙̗̣̱͕͎͇̲̥̱̝͒̎͆͊ ̴̞͓͉͈̯̖̬̿͑̌̿͊̔̔̄̑̚͝͝ͅ ̷̡̧̱̪̟͚͕̗͖̩̯͍͓͕͖͉̠̗̥͙̲̏̅̆͌̾̏̂͌̅́͌̒ͫ̅̃̔̈́͘ ͞ ͎͉̙̍ͨ́ ͓̞̱̼̜̳̘͡ ̬͒ Saudade…
By Hannah Jenkins — 13 September, 2019
Seven short stories on light and time, in response to Yvette Hamilton’s Luminous Capture at Wellington St Projects. i. Looking at light Light alone is often unobservable. It is a conduit for illuminating a subject, or otherwise it is a field of white. But light can be a message beaming out, and so light…
By Hannah Jenkins — 3 May, 2019
The difference between light and truth: Photography captures light and shadow. The camera captures what’s there in front of it, so, for a time, photography was near synonymous with truth. Nicholas Aloisio-Shearer’s black and white photography tears apart this assumption with both clinical precision and grotesque abandon. His portraits and still lifes appear to show…
By Naomi Riddle — 19 October, 2018
There are four, no, five Twitter accounts that I look at on my Chrome browser every day (and update multiple—multiple—times), but, because I don’t have a Twitter account, I tell myself that I am not on Twitter. We may be overloaded—‘stuck in the present as it reproduces itself without leading to any future’—but we still…
By Soo-Min Shim — 8 August, 2018
Author’s note: CW—racism, assault, rape This month, I walked into the University of Sydney and was greeted by angry black scrawls of graffiti on the bus stops: ‘No More G**ks’. I immediately recoiled from a caricature of an Asian face with slanted eyes. A ‘Stop the Asian Invasion’ tag was found on three different…
By Mariam Arcilla — 27 July, 2018
How do you conduct a search party for a phantom actress? Darren Sylvester’s solo show, Out of Life, now on view at Sullivan+Strumpf, is a speculative narrative on mortality, nostalgia and magic, orbiting around a 1970s-era space-suit Sylvester discovered at a Hollywood costumes auction. Metallic and radiant, with moon-grey sleeves and croissant-puff shoulder pads, its…
By Cherine Fahd — 29 June, 2018
In the front matter of a yellowing paperback copy of Roland Barthes’ A Lover’s Discourse (1990) I have inscribed the date—23 July 2000. Looking at it now, I can recall this time eighteen years ago, reading Barthes’ work during a long period of romantic solitude. I hadn’t been in a relationship for at least six…
By Sam Dickson — 29 March, 2018
Coming in from the blistering heat, you find yourself beholding an Arcadian vision on the gallery walls. ‘Antidote’ (2005) is comprised of seven looping videos of a waterfall, and there’s comfort to be found in the playback of soft splashing and the air-con’s regulating flow. But looking across the video channels, a textural disharmony is revealed….
By Paul Kelaita — 2 February, 2018
I walk into Gallery Four at Firstdraft behind a guy, following the path he’s carving out through the crowd. Mounted at hip-height on the wall to our right is a small round plaster sculpture. A piece of toilet paper has been wedged into a tiny hole in its centre. The first thing the guy does…