Sydney Contemporary

“Are there any photographers other than Trent Parke?”, I asked my friend Kate tonight. As noted, I have decided the best way to “tackle” Sydney Contemporary is to spend a day/night exploring a particular medium. And so tonight, I decided I’d “tackle” photography.

To be brutally honest, there wasn’t a lot which impressed me. Indeed, there wasn’t a lot of photography generally. I know photography can be a real issue for collectors – images fade – but it’s an important, and really amazing area of contemporary art, and so I was disappointed there wasn’t more.

Don’t get me wrong. I really liked the photography I saw, and here are my favourite works, about which I feel passionate about. I just wished there wasn’t more.

Troy Emery, Woof-Woof
Paul Dibble, Rabbit Fights Back
Guan Wei
Caroline Rothwell, Weather Maker
Tim Storier, The Histrionic Wayfarer
Alex Seton, Someone Else’s Problem

And so I started looking at video art, and there wasn’t a huge amount of that either. Yikes.

Not really me sitting on the toilet, this was an “interactive” installation or just a good “photo op”.

Tomorrow, I’m guessing I’ll look toward paintings and drawings, and I’m hoping there’ll be more to inspire.

2 Replies to “Sydney Contemporary”

  1. I feel like the last (and first) Sydney Contemporary was a little more diverse, there were definitely more video works (and I think more sculpture).

    We’re now contemplating making a major major purchase (scary).

    Were you there last night? I saw Kate a couple of times from a distance, but it was aa bit of a zoo.

    We’re off to the other art fair on Saturday – should be an interesting contrast!

  2. Yes, very busy. I didn’t see you, but there were thousands and thousands. I spotted a guy from work, but he was gone in an instant. He said, he probably saw more bars than he saw art works!!
    Major purchase? Cool!! I took a look at The Other Art Fair during lunchtime today, and it was interesting and affordable! The most interesting things for me were photographs by http://www.sarikaguptaphotography.com.au/
    A doctor who travels around the country doing NGO work, takes photographs and then donates the money raised from sales back to the NGOs. Though some photographers deal in what you would losely call “poverty porn”, Sarika really shows the strength and integrity of the people visited.
    Very affordable, and I think I’ll buy some.
    Having a rest tonight, but absolutely love there’s so much art-wise to do right now.

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