simon obarzanek

untitled movement

18 march - 10 april 2010

• press release

Turner Galleries is very pleased to be showing the work of Simon Obarzanek from Melbourne.

Simon is the first Art Angels sponsored resident artist for 2010. His residency is co-sponsored with the Central Institute of Technology where he will work and reside. Turner Galleries Art Angels are also assisting FotoFreo with Annet’s accommodation.

Simon’s photographs come from observing the physical movements of people pushing through the space around them in a city. He senses a universal language through movement and is drawn to this rather than their faces, as he normally is.

He noted that the “strained movements against gravity struck me with force... When I see a person creating a shape with their body in the street I do not sense the individual but a part, a piece of a larger performance. Each individual connects with others to create a visual language. I did not want faces to interrupt this larger work.”

Simon collects the movements on his camera, as photographic sketches, then he rephotographs the movement using friends and family as models. Removed from the busy streets, dislocated, his subject is isolated and framed against a dark background. Some twist away from the camera, or stagger against an unseen wind, sheltering their face from rain that is not falling. Simon does not show their faces, which emphasises the movement and makes the figures anonymous. These photographs are theatrical and mysterious, emphasising the loneliness and alienation that can be encountered living in a big city.

Simon has been exhibiting since 1990 and his work can be found in collections such as the National Gallery of Victoria, the National Portrait Gallery, Powerhouse Museum and Artbank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

untitled movement no. 1 #1 edition 3/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed sold	untitled movement no. 1 #2 edition 3/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed
untitled movement no. 1 #3 edition 3/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed	untitled movement no. 1 #5 edition 6/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed sold
untitled movement no. 1 #6 edition 2/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed	untitled movement no. 1 #7 edition 4/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed
untitled movement no. 1 #8 edition 1/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed	untitled movement no. 1 #9 edition 1/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed
untitled movement no. 1 #10 edition 5/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed	untitled movement no. 1 #12 edition 1/7 type c photograph 60 x 45cm 2008 $2,500 unframed, $2,900 framed