Photographer Jon Beale has a straightforward yet subtle approach to noticing and composing photos and developing them without manipulation. Out of this direct process, his images have a hand-made quality and seem to hover on the paper, tangible records of a given moment, yet also fascinatingly timeless reflections on the nature of physical reality. He's been in the game for more than 25 years, including a stint as a Canberra Times photographer back in the late 1980s, but his current exhibition focusses on his more recent ongoing road-trips on the hunt for images of evolving change and decay in rural communities. There is also a selection of portraits and situation photos from his work in the sewers beneath Sydney, and some smaller working prints from East Timor and of monks at the Holy Cross Seminary near Goulburn. The show will run for three weekends from Saturday March 18, with drinks from 5pm on the opening evening, at The Left Hand gallery, 81 Lascelles Street, Braidwood.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Classic films
The Reel McCoy Film Group is screening two films over the the next two weekends based on Maxim Gorky's play The Lower Depths. In 1936 Jean Renoir directed Les Bas-Fonds which tells of the friendship between a charming thief and a former wealthy baron who has bankrupted himself through gambling. In 1957 Akira Kurosawa directed his version, Donzoko, which makes use of Kurosawa's trademark cinematography and editing. Both prints are courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive. Les Bas-Fonds screens on March 19 and Donzoko on March 26 in the theatre at the Canberra Museum and Gallery in Civic. The Reel McCoy Film Group is a not-for-profit film society that caters for people interested in cinema, particularly those who like to see timeless classics and overlooked gems at low cost. Membership is $50 per annum, $35 for 6 months, or $20 for 3 months.
Loving large
We're loving anything large scale and the recently opened immersive video installation by Swiss contemporary artist Pipilotti Rist at the National Gallery of Australia is certainly that. An intertwining psychedelic microcosm of flesh and nature is projected on a 16-metre surround screen inside a dedicated space that engulfs the viewer in a meditative experience. Rist's hyper-real visuals are both visceral and psychological, offering a contemporary trip through the sensual and sublime. Starting in the human body and across the skin, the journey takes flight like insects across nature and transforms into the vastness of the universe. A major new retrospective of Pipilotti Rist's work will also be presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia from November 1 to February 18, 2018, as part of the 2017-2018 Sydney International Art Series. Worry will vanish revelation (2014) opens in the Contemporary Galleries at the NGA until August 20.
What's the answer?
Who am I ...? is a human story about aspiration and determination versus self-doubt and loss of confidence. It's about the things we all have to confront if we have the ambition to get something done. It also is the story of 1990s Australia and one man's attempt to scale the summit of all Australian quiz shows. Stephen Abbott, best known as The Sandman, and Russell Cheek, actor and former Sale of the Century champion, collaborated to make a show out of dinner party stories and footage of Sale of the Century. The show's been called an absolute treat for all generations. At The Street Theatre from March 28-April 2. www.thestreet.org.au
A mother's story
Banjo Paterson is one of the most prolific poets in Australia's history, yet very little has been written about his family, in particular his mother, Rose Paterson. In her new book Looking for Rose Paterson, Canberra author Jennifer Gall provides an intriguing insight into the relationship between Rose and her husband Andrew Paterson, and the family environment that came to shape their son. Often left to manage her seven children alone on an isolated station with no domestic help, Rose Paterson was a fascinating woman in her own right. Dr Gall is an assistant curator at the National Film and Sound Archive and a visiting fellow at the Australian National University School of Music. Looking for Rose Paterson, NLA Publishing, $39.99.
Botanical life
Local botanical artist Cheryl Hodges received some offcuts of vintage blotting paper from the Yarralumla Nursery several years ago, inspiring her to researching the history of the nursery. Initially run by Charles Weston himself, the nursery has provided plants to Canberra since 1913. Some of Cheryl's paintings incorporate historical items such as contour maps and nursery cards which she has accessed through archives, and all feature botanical specimens from Canberra. Some examples of plants included are the Callistemons planted on Red Hill by Weston at the request of Walter Burley Griffin, between 1917 and 1920; the Himalayan Cedar from Government House, the seeds from which were used to grow trees at Green Hills, now a forest at the National Arboretum Canberra; and the Grevillea 'Canberra Gem' cultivated at the nursery. Botanical Capital: an exhibition of watercolours telling stories of Canberra's landscape history. Until March 24, Yarralumla Gallery, Cottage 1.
