Photographer Aliah Jan of  Waiuku, was presented with the 5th Annual Black and White Spider Awards ‘1^st in the category of  Photojournalism’ at a prestigious Nomination & Winners Photo Show attended by 35,000 online viewers (who logged on live from 154 countries) to see the climax of the industry’s most important event for black and white photography. Another image ‘Street Protest’ received  a ‘Honorable Mention Award’ also in the Photojournalism Award Category.

Thousands of images were received from 68 countries worldwide. The awards international Jury included captains of the industry from Magnum Photos, The Armory Show, Fratelli Alinari, Contrasto to Tate and Hamiltons in London who honoured Spider Fellows with 84 coveted title awards in 28 categories. The judges reviewed the entries online for eight weeks before making their final nominations and Aliah’s ‘Dragon Dance’, an exceptional image entered in the Photojournalism category, received a high percentage of votes overall.

“The Spider Awards celebrates photographers who operate at the highest levels of their craft,” said Basil O’Brien, the awards Creative Director. “Aliah’s work represents black and white photography at its finest, and we’re pleased to present her with the 1^st Prize Outstanding Achievement.

‘Dragon Dance’ by Aliah Jan

You can view the 5th Annual Winners Gallery at  www.thespiderawards.com/gallery5

Tawharanui Regional Park (90 mins drive north of Auckland), 6-14 March 2010, 10am to 5pm

An opportunity to view  and purchase outstanding contemporary painting, sculpture, ceramics, glasswork and photography by leading and emerging New Zealand artists. All funds raised will support current projects within Tawharanui Open Sanctuary.

Participating photographers include Ian Macdonald & Richard Smallfield

An exhibition developed for a Masters of Design by Project at Unitec by Serena Stevenson

Beyond Documentary

SNOWHITE Gallery                                                                                                                                           Unitec School of Design - Building One, Gate One                                                                                             Carrington Rd, Mt Albert, Auckland

Exhibition dates 18-25 Feb 2010, Opening 18 Feb at 6pm

New photographic works on aluminum by Mary Jo Bedford.

Exhibition dates 10 Feb - 5 March 2010. Quiqcorp Gallery, 155 High Street, Christchurch

Wallace Art Award Finalist 2009 and Anthony Harper Award Finalist 2009,  Mary Jo Bedford is exhibiting her latest works, ‘Arbour Ardour’.

Doc Ross says of her work, “In this body of work, as with much of her oeuvre, Mary Jo has utilized a pictorialist style to convey her emotional responses to nature. That response is in part drawn from her well of past experiences of life, death and renewal.”

These new works printed on aluminum are made using a Fresnel Zone Plate lens that lends a glowing ghostly effect on the image. She has chosen to print onto gold or silver brushed aluminum in order to further enhance the glow that is within the images. This glow she says, “is evidence of the beating heart of the woodland; the ancient knowledge shared by trees”.

Since childhood she has felt a kinship with the trees and forest, and significant events in her life have been associated with trees, including the deaths of her father and her mother. In this exhibition she has continued her practice of “editing directly from life” eschewing the artificiality of digital manipulation. She believes the Fresnel lens, “while distorting reality, does not distract from the moment. Instead, it amplifies the aura that evidences the heartbeat of the woodland”.

Mary Jo has previously exhibited solo in Sydney, Australia, Christchurch, Marlborough Sounds and Lyttelton.

Matariki - He wa maumaharatanga, te iwi, te whenua
Matariki - A time of remembrance; of people and of place
Exhibition dates: May 28th – July 11th 2010, Opening Thursday 27th May, 6pm
This year, the Matariki exhibition at Corban Estate Arts Centre will combine the annual Auckland Festival of Photography with our established Matariki celebrations.
We are looking for photographers and multimedia/film artists to submit work that echoes one of the core themes of Matariki as a time of remembrance.
Images/works may depict people who have left our lives, the places we hold dear as well as milestones or events that are cherished. Please feel free to be creative, remembrance can have different meanings for everyone and we welcome your interpretation.
While submissions are welcome from everyone, we would particularly like to encourage Maori photographers to submit.
Submissions are restricted to photography or multimedia and film. There is no size restriction, however please include dimensions in your submission. Submissions will be accepted immediately and will close on the 6th of April 2010.
Please send an email to the curator, Lisa Rogers with the following:
- A few sentences on the subject matter and significance of EACH of the work/s you are submitting for consideration. Please include the title of each work.
- Jpg or pdf files of the works – there is no limit on the amount you submit, however please make sure the total size of attachments by email aren’t more than 8MB – feel free to send images in more than one email, clearly marked.
- A short paragraph about yourself and background including photographic experience or otherwise and exhibiting history.
We look forward to receiving submissions – please pass this email on to anyone you think may be interested…
As an added bonus, any submissions accepted for the exhibition and received before February 10th 2010, could be chosen as the image to accompany all of our advertising, media releases and regional promotions (with artist accreditation on the images).
Any questions please email me lisa@ceac.org.nz or phone 09 838 4455 x 203
Lisa Rogers, Curator and Exhibitions Manager

Contemporary photographic works by Janet McGifford and Kirsty Lillico.

13th February  to 27th February 2010, Opening - Friday 12th February, 5-7pm

Photospace Gallery 1st floor, 37 Courtenay Place Wellington

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Janet McGifford

Janet McGifford’s work examines the complex relationship photography plays in determining the nature of the tourist experience through the collective visualisation of the tourist gaze. She employs the use of digital photographic processes and the manipulation of travel photography of tourist destinations sourced from the Internet.

McGifford’s photographs are reminiscent of the feathery brushwork of Impressionist painting. The Impressionists were, in part, reacting to the rising popularity of photography. They sought to capture the temporal and subjective nature of seeing, as opposed to their perception of the camera’s mechanical recording of one moment in time. Using the tool of Photoshop, McGifford introdues a similar unfolding sense of time back into the subject of the landscape.

She says, “I am interested in how travel photography can play a part in directing an act of engagement between tourist and site. The inherent relationships between representation, authentication, standardisation and documentation are explored, and bring together ideas of the archival and the sublime through the discovery and engagement of popular travel sites such as the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China”.

Study 2, Kirsty Lillico

Using both sculptural and photographic procedures, Kirsty Lillico’s work extends the conventions of dress and its functionality, in order to examine a human dilemma between the desire to protect a state of interiority and the need to perform one’s identity to the exterior.

In Opposite & Above, Lillico uses digital photography to document a series of toiles; hand-made calico garments used in the process of clothing design. These garments are modeled for the camera by a subject whose identity is withheld through the concealing nature of the garments, and by gesture.

The formal construction of the photograph - lighting, composition, setting - suggests the psychological and social function for the garments’ use and manufacture, and has been informed by the work of 17th century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer.

This work creates an engagement with clothing as an agent of protection through the interaction between classical painting references and the contemporary context of the work.