Photography Essay Sydney Biennale

This photography essay showcases the artworks displayed at the Cockatoo Island installations for the18th Biennale of Sydney. Cockatoo Island is a world heritage-listed island in the western region of Sydney Harbour and is a former shipyard and prior to that, a convict prison.

The artworks displayed at Cockatoo Island carry the theme "Stories, Senses and Spheres", opening the audience to the elements of water, wind and earth through collaborative and interactive projects that inspire within their storytelling. I spent a whole day exploring the island artwork installations and architecture with a good friend from Brisbane. Here's a small collection of artworks captured during the day.

 Peter Robinson, Snow Ball Blind Time 2008. Whole sections of an industrial warehouse is covered in white links in snow.

Daan Roosegararde, Dune 2007-2011. Light and sound installation underground with lights that display thanks to motion.

 Jon Pylypchuk, Spend the Rest of Your Life Mining This Death and It Will Only Bring You Despair, 2012.

 Cal Lane, Sand Lace, 2012. It's not carpet, it's red sand.

  Reiner Rietveld and Craigie Horsfield, Confusion 2012. Is a sound installation where the noises of ships horns and moving industrial machines dominate the senses.

 Philip Beesley, Hylozoic Series, 2011. An interactive light and movement sculpture that allowed the audience to turn lights on and off while feathered wings moved.

 Monica Grzymala, The River, 2012. Preliminary sketch.

 Adam Cvijanovic, The River 2012. Artists model.

 Cecilia Vicuna, Quipu Austral (Nina en el fuego) 2011.

 Carlos Garaicoa, Project Fragile (Cockatoo Island) 2012.

 Sriwhana Spong, Learning Duets, 2012. There was a video in an adjacent room showing a dancer alone on a beach and rocky outcrop.

 Li Hongbo, Ocean of Flowers, 2012. This is a silent protest to the construction and destruction caused by the bombs on Hiroshima.

 Erin Manning, Slow Clothes, Society for Art and Technology, Montreal, 2007.

 Ricardo Lanzarini, ...como llegar a las masas?, 2012

 Latifa Echakhch, TKAF, 2011 Installation view.

 Imran Qureshi, Blessings Upon the Land of My Love, 2011 (detail).

Evelyn Nicodemus, Bystander on Probation Series, 2007.

This is just a small collection of images of the artworks displayed at Cockatoo Island. The 18th Biennale of Sydney is also being held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Carriageworks in Everleigh and at Pier 2/3 in Walsh Bay. The exhibition runs from 27 June to the 16th September 2012. Admission is free. For more information go to http:www.bos18.com

All original artworks displayed here are the copyright of the artist named. Photographer Markham Lane.

A Photography Mosaic of Your Life, With Added Inspiration

In my life, photographic inspiration comes from many sources but the strongest visions ever generated, seem to come from interactions with my "creative muses". A photographer's muse provides a different level of inspiration than the standard person you meet. It's kind of spiritual - a deeper, heart-felt connection and an instant recognition that we have a shared understanding and perspective of the creative process. My creative muses are Adrian Van Winklehof, Kamini Morrish and Greg Ruggeri.

Here are three original artworks that pay homage to them, as "told" through a mosaic of images from my personal life.

All images are Copyright 2011 Markham Lane photography. All Rights Reserved.

Creating an Original Artwork on Canvas: Process Anatomy

I think I tried to stuff too many jobs into this month and that's why my life has been so hectic for the past four weeks! Still, I think there's some benefit in providing you with an insight into what it takes to create an original artwork, printed on canvas, using photography as my paint brush. My latest creation, titled "Constructed Sydney" is the basis for this blog post.

Here is a copy of the final original artwork, which has now been printed with archival quality canvas and inks:

"Constructed Sydney" is an original artwork designed and signed by photographer artist, Markham Lane. Copyright 2010 Markham Lane photography. All Rights Reserved.

It all started with a brief from one of my favourite clients, to fill a space in the boardroom of his new office building, located at Sydney's Circular Quay. While the brief was simple enough; "Something with the Sydney Habour Bridge, in black and white, that matches the dimensions of the light-space in the room next door", producing something original, that I would be proud to sign my name on, filled me with dred.

It's the same every time ...and I think it's got something to do with my own high standards for creating art. Having spent years travelling the world, studying the greatest artists of all time, I want my work to somehow live up to my own ideal of what is "great". I want my work to be different, to be (at least) a little original. To have the Markham twist, telling a story, big picture, little picture.

He loved the idea of "photography as the paintbrush", which suits me at the moment given how my creative talents are in this zone. I came up with an overall concept - historic architectural Sydney, embedded within the structure of the Harbour Bridge - to which he agreed to take a chance on me and commissioned the artwork. 

While I tried to share with him the process to develop, he offered the only caveat - that he didn't really want to be involved in the artistic development on the final piece, "Not wanting to step on your creative license" was the way he put it. Well, that's a dream situation for an artist, so I entered into the process with gusto.

Here's a visual representation of the process, to make that concept come to life:

The first step was to collect an image of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, along with all the images of "historic architectural Sydney". You may not be able to see it here, but on the final artwork (210cm x 70cm) the entire canvas is covered by a title mosaic of buildings located in Sydney. Each tile is about 8cm x5cm. Some buildings were built recently, with others from as far back as the early 1800's.

Two months later, I had enough images collected to build the mosaic tile. All images were originally photographed in colour on blue sky days, (during a post-drought period, a blue-sky was difficult to arrange) as I still wanted to produce a colour version of the artwork, before completing the process for my client in moving to black and white.

Using Photoshop to merge image layers at high resolution made the "superMac" grind to a halt in the dying stages. Aparently the "scratch disks were full". Hell, I have no idea what that means either but there was a lot of tinkering with the computer by my awesome partner to get it working again. Three days later, and voi-la!!

Original artworks, printed on canvas, using photography as the paintbrush, is the realisation of my life's passion. In understanding the process anatomy, you get an opportunity to come into my world, to see what my crazy "Time is Art" philosophy is about and hopefully enjoy something great to look at too.

Markham Lane photography website is http://www.markhamimages.com/ and he can be contacted via his Agent, Quaetapo Media, on +61-2-9332-2028 for interested parties requiring any of his photography services.