The Australian exhibition, The Female Eye, recognises the unique visual signatures that mark the documentary photography of four female photographers: Nicola Dracoulis, Kerry Pryor OAM, Ilana Rose and Helga Salwe.
Curator Alison Stieven-Taylor says the exhibition “is not meant as a statement about whether women see differently to men, although science tells us that is the case, with women seeing a more vibrant colour spectrum. Rather it is an acknowledgment of the role of the individual gaze in creating a compelling visual narrative.”
“Documentary photography is often used as a catch-all phrase, the nuances in creating compelling visual narratives are under played,” says Stieven-Taylor. “When I was curating this exhibition, I had particular imagery in mind. I was looking for stories that complemented each other, and also showed the scope of work being created by women photographers in Australia today. At the same time I wanted to convey how documentary can be representative of a range of approaches.”
The Female Eye presents a collection of 40 works and will make its debut at the Pingyao International Photography festival on 19 September in China. Established in 2001, the Pingyao International Photography Festival is one of the longest running and most prestigious festivals in China. It’s held in the Ancient City of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. This annual festival presents a vast array of shows from around the world, with exhibitions mounted in disused factories, in outdoor installations and cultural venues.
“These four artists exemplify the unique perspective that women can bring to documentary photography,” says Stieven-Taylor. “Each has created a body of work that is infused with their own visual language, as they explore four very diverse, yet universal themes – loss, longing, love and hope. I’ve championed Australian photographers for many years and am thrilled to showcase the talents of these amazing women at such an important international event.”
The Female Eye features work from Nicola Dracoulis’ long-term project Vivier no Meio do Barulho (Living in the Middle of the Noise), which captures the lives of nine young people living in Rio’s notorious favelas. Seven years after the first portraits were taken in 2006, Dracoulis returned to discover how their lives had changed.
“Like any group, each person has a different story, some with dramatic events in their journeys, some with more quiet rites of passage,” says Dracoulis who is now based in New York. “Universal themes of growing up are depicted alongside the challenges and social issues faced by those who live in poverty in Brazil. These everyday stories offer another perspective on a world that is often eclipsed by the media attention on glamorous beach carnival life or dramatic violent crime.”
Kerry Pryor’s The Lost Generation conveys the toll that AIDS has inflicted on Ethiopian families. Her pictures, quiet and thoughtful, speak of the loss of an entire generation. Pryor, who this year was awarded an OAM for her photographic work in the charity sector says, “It is an incredible privilege and responsibility to be invited into someone’s home to tell their story. I worked on this series over a number of years, building trust and developing relationships. Often visits were just about having coffee and a chat. It was wonderful to get to know these families and to tell a story that allows us to move past cultural differences and celebrate the love of family, while paying tribute to those who are no longer here.”
Ilana Rose is best known for her social justice documentary work, but in This Chicken Life she takes an irreverent and joyful look at the sub-culture of chicken lovers, where chickens are adored pets! These playful portraits capture the “chooks” and the Australians who love them. “At the core of This Chicken Life is a story about relationships,” says Rose, adding that a book of the same name will be published later in the year with writer Fiona Scott-Norman. “Having chickens in your life is so hot right now. Chickens are the new black! It was great fun working on this light-hearted project. I met some amazing people and gained a new appreciation for their feathered friends.”
Helga Salwe’s Mother Country features images that are intensely personal, and talk of isolation, both allegorical and literal, and the desire to escape. Salwe, who is now based in Melbourne, took these images in the years she was living on a farm in remote, rural Australia. “I was documenting life in my community but I was also in a deeply unhappy and abusive marriage, I wanted to leave but didn’t know how to. The photographs have a lonely, melancholic atmosphere that reflects a difficult time in my life but they are also records of what life is like in a small rural enclave. For me photography is a tool for understanding myself and the world we live in and of course what is most personal is most universal.”
This is the first exhibition Stieven-Taylor has curated for a festival and follows her guest curatorial roles for Your Daily Photograph (sponsored by Duncan Miller Gallery in Los Angeles), where she curated two collections featuring 60 artists from around the globe (2014 and 2019). She has also been a judge for numerous photography awards including the Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism (Australia), the Head On Photo Awards (Sydney) and the FotoEvidence Book Award (New York). An international journalist specialising in documentary photography, Stieven-Taylor has been a contributor to L’Oeil de la Photographie since its nascent years and is the publisher of the widely read weekly blog Photojournalism Now.
Alison Stieven-Taylor
The Female Eye
The Pingyao International Photography Festival
The Diesel Engine A1 Gallery
19-25 September, 2019
