Project Updates

We have quite a bit planned for 2015 so here a quick update:

Elisa Markes-Young - The Original Place: Elisa is preparing a high-end, hand-made book of 'The Original Place' for 'Between the Sheets'. This will be on from 7 March – 2 April 2015 at Gallery Central (Central Institute of Technology). More information here: http://www.galleryeast.com.au/general/books15D.html

Elisa is also preparing a new suite of work from 'The Original Place' for various upcoming shows as well as the exhibition at Heathcote Museum and Gallery (together with Chris) from 2 October to 8 November 2015 March to April 2016.

Christopher Young - Six: the 'domestic' aspects of this project will be expanded in order to complete a large monograph. This blurb-produced book will include work from 'drei', 'five' and 'six' and will be exhibited at PhotoBook Independent in Los Angeles from 1-3 May 2015. More information here: http://photoindependent.com/photobooks/

A very small number of these 'might' be available around the time of the exhibition of 'Quiet Moments' depending on financial constraints.

A new suite of work for 'Six' is also being prepared. This includes various new active spaces and will be shot over a long period of time. This is more likely to be a book rather than an exhibition.

Christopher Young - Drei: six images from this series will be shown as part of 'Quiet Moments' at Fremantle Art Centre. This will be on from 5 June - 26 July 2015. 

Christopher Young - Small Town: a DCA grant for this project was unsuccessful so this has - again - severely hampered/delayed it's completion. That said, given the Ignite funding, there are only 10 or so images that are yet to be digitised; an essay to be written and editing to be done on the complete text. 

Three routes are possible: the first is to use 'Blurb'. Unfortunately the US dollar is relatively strong so this makes each book prohibitively expensive and any profit margins miniscule. The second route is to locally produce a much shorter run to get the book to 'dummy' level and approach various publishers with it. This is unlikely to prove fruitful but as I've tried just about everything to get this up I don't see what harm it could do! A locally produced version would be expensive but would have a few hand-made gimmicks in it. The third route is to produce a run offshore (Singapore) as was the original idea. The cost/print quality ratio is better on a unit level but I would need to produce at least 250 copies. That makes it a fairly heavy exercise financially.

There are various other things planned but more later!

'Five - Fremantle Prison' announced as a finalist in the WA State Heritage Awards.

Hardly a criminal mastermind...

There was large hill up behind where I spent my teenage years near a notoriously dangerous intersection. My parents ran a small motel there which sat next to a popular restrooms and petrol station. Bored one day my brother and I crossed one of the roads, climbed up behind a small row of trees and over a few fences to get about half way up the hill.

We thought it a good idea to dislodge a large basketball-sized rock to see how far it would roll down the hill and, much to our excitement, it quickly gathered more and more speed. It smashed through one of the fences, jumped the next before crashing very noisily into the trees.

After we came down, we heard from the horrified local petrol station owner that he, hearing the noise the rock made as it approached, had seen the rock fly out the other side of the trees, bounce once on the normally very busy road before resting in a paddock. It passed about 20 metres to the left of the petrol station.

I guess my main point is that the difference between being 'inside' and 'outside' can be as simple as being lucky or unlucky on any given day. This is not to say that those in Prison are there by bad luck alone but rather that it can be a complex mixture of circumstances. Equally those on the 'outside' might live their privileged lives on the simple basis of being born in the right country to the right parents at the right time.

'Five - Fremantle Prison', Fremantle Prison, August 2012. Image: Christopher Young.

I'm happy to announce that the work I exhibited in Fremantle Prison in 2012 was today announced as a finalist in the Western Australian State Heritage Awards (Outstanding interpretation project that enhances a place).

Self-funded and on exhibition for six months, Five - Fremantle Prison looked at the traces of activity in this iconic location. Normal processes occurred with protagonists eating, sleeping, working and playing. As such, it could be seen as a highly concentrated microcosm of the outside world.

The resulting photographic artworks, research, booklet and selection of objects illustrated the beauty that can be found in the everyday. It offered a new insight into the Prison’s more recent past, giving viewers an opportunity to explore some rarely seen sections of the Prison as well as look at others afresh.

The finalists have been published to the State Heritage Office website and the winners are to be announced at His Majesty's Theatre in early April.

A selection of work from the series is also currently on show at Sofitel Melbourne on Collins (25 Collins St, Melbourne) until April 13.

Ambitions for 2014

2014 will - for zebra-factory at least - be a much quieter and hopefully less bipolar year than the mildly insane 2013. That said, writing down what's coming up it does still sound a bit hectic!

We plan to put out at least three books including the long-delayed New Zealand work, a book of the Polish work (shown at Kurb during FotoFreo 2012) as well as a much expanded edition of 'Six'. The latter will include more images made across the project including others outside the scope of the residency. If I find the energy I might also publish a final book of the 'Five' series.

The hard cover version of Elisa's 'The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced' has already been released (http://au.blurb.com/b/4838672-the-strange-quiet-of-things-misplaced).

All of these books will now be published through Blurb as we can't afford to finance entire print runs locally. Unfortunately this means that they will come at a premium but we do hope to put out both hard cover and soft cover versions to at least give people some options.

The Sofitel exhibitions will run until early March (https://www.facebook.com/events/567977646605914/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/670959532937582/) and a portion of the work will likely stay in Melbourne for another exhibition from May 2014.

Elisa will be doing an artist residency with Central TAFE in the fourth quarter of 2014 and will also be showing a selection of works from 'The Original Place' as part of that.

The Bankwest Award (https://www.bankwest.com.au/artprize) continues through to March and it's likely that 'Six' will be significantly extended at the Subiaco Museum (https://www.facebook.com/events/167618520088719/).

There are a few other things on as well so keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates (https://www.facebook.com/pages/zebra-factorycom/125311714165969?ref=hl)

Artperth is still chugging along and I am considering producing a small, extremely lo-fi magazine at some stage. I do need to test the waters a bit to see how I will get on with content. Ideally we would like to publish text about the various exhibitions on at any given moment as well as feature one project. Everything would be black & white, saddle-stitched and probably printed at Officeworks!

I have taken up a position on PCP's board (http://www.pcp.org.au/) and I hope to help them in whatever way I can to push this great organisation even further.

Finally, this year I am personally determined to do some 'mucking about' with other media. There have already been a few mildly successful experiments over the last few weeks so you never know! I'm not dissatisfied with my light catchers, just looking for other ways to express myself…. I promise to spare you my poems though!

Elisa Markes-Young's 'The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced'
http://au.blurb.com/b/4838672-the-strange-quiet-of-things-misplaced

Elisa Markes-Young's 'The Strange Quiet of Things Misplaced'
http://au.blurb.com/b/4838672-the-strange-quiet-of-things-misplaced

The Original Place @ Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

Six @ Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

Fremantle Prison @ Sofitel Melbourne on Collins

Front room @ Subiaco Museum

Front room @ Subiaco Museum

Display cabinet in Six @ Subiaco Museum.

five @ Fremantle Prison: May 3-November 18, 2012

The exhibition has now been up a little under a month and feedback has been really positive so far.

Further to the video, here are some documentation shots of both the install and booklet.

The booklet is available for sale both in the Prison shop or online.

"Over the course of a number of photo shoots in 2010 and 2011, Christopher Young was given access to Fremantle Prison to produce a new collection of images as part of his award-winning series 'five'.

The resultant images illustrate the beauty that can be found in the everyday. They give viewers an opportunity to explore some rarely seen sections of the Prison and to look at others afresh.

Together with an eclectic display of items from the Prison’s collection, the exhibition offers a new insight into the Prison’s more recent past."

Dates: May 3-November 18, 2012.
Opening Times: 9.00am to 5.00pm daily.
Price: Free.

Fremantle Prison
Side Gallery
1 The Terrace
FREMANTLE WA 6160

Ph: 08 9336 9200
Fax: 08 9430 7188
Email: info@fremantleprison.com.au
Website: www.fremantleprison.com.au

Chew toys....

I was looking through the great flickr commons page of the powerhouse museum this morning and have put together a small selection of images. Many feel surprisingly fresh even though on average they are approaching 80 years old.

Crash but no burn... yet!

What an appropriate metaphor for (at least some) recent times!

The old BGC/Bunnings building at the bottom of Subi is no more. It was demolished this week.



The white wall with the ticket machine I shot and exhibited in 2004 was just one of it's faces. A huge and immaculate whitewashed wall that seemed to magically appear out of nowhere. It truly looked quite unreal in the right light.

The vier series that was exhibited at Kurb was shot inside the building. It was used as all day car parking for quite a while and the previous offices were easily accessible. I visited the site twice for the series and by the time I'd returned the second time - as it always seems to be - it had been significantly vandalised.

Data collection & other stuff!

I don't know if it's a 'normal' thing or not but I noticed today a council
worker obviously making notes and comparing graffiti that was on the back of
a road sign.

Should they catch said 'artist' do they then use that data in any
prosecution? Or is it just statistical? ie. we have 4 little horrors who
normally cover suburb x, y & z. I wonder how much other data is collected?

Traffic data would be interesting. They have all these tickers all over
Perth which must amount to a mammoth amount of information ... including the
holy grail. What exact time in the morning do I have to leave to avoid all
the noddys and traffic in general?!?

I won 'The Broken Keys' on RTR the other week which is a great little album.
Also purchased the new Sleepy Jackson, a re-release of Janis Joplin's Pearl,
the Monsieur Gainsbourg sampler
(http://monsieurgainsbourg.artistes.universalmusic.fr/) and, of all things,
the pilot episode to Moonlighting on DVD.

I've rediscovered that the Strokes are one of the few things in the world
that make me genuinely happy. I couldn't care less if they're derivative or
even that they're American... It's just music that, when played, I notice a
real change in my mood.

A non-Pharmacological antidepressant perhaps?

I have been in two great locations recently which have given up around 15
new images. One was an old school and yesterday there was an abandoned
medical centre. Access to both was arranged through various councils and it
was a totally blind experience ... ie. I had no idea what they looked like
inside.

They presented unique challenges, least of which was time and space. But
ultimately they gave me what I needed which is obviously not a bad thing!

There is a real feeling of discovery involved that is very satisfying.

On the emulsion (I hope) ...

Have been around a few locations lately that 'do it for me' proverbially.


First up was the rather dangerous site of Ashby house up in Wanneroo. Great interior with the advantage of heaps of light thanks to the lack of an actual roof. The lack of a 'stable' floor also makes for some interesting gymnastics. An old bed frame, moss, old tables and a fireplace made it into a great visual treat. Went back yesterday to reshoot it on MF slide (initially on 35mm neg) and hope that it sparks again.

Next up was the Bristile Kilns in Belmont. Fantastic honeycomb kilns that are rustic for want of a better word. Very toxic looking inside and again a bit hairy with holes and the like. It's pencilled as a heritage site but should be enshrined. There's something very unusual and otherworldly about this place and something that should be preserved regardless of it's land value --- which would be considerable.

Also did a drive-by of the Maylands Brick works which look amazing from the outside at least ... have tried to get permission to get in there and hope that I can get some good images out of it.

Another reason not to do weddings ...

Besides the fact that I find the idea of shooting photos at a wedding the equivalent of dental surgery with a sledgehammer, there is one other factor that makes me pause.

I've discovered over the last few years that consistently almost everything that I've photographed is either destroyed or 'renovated' within a few weeks of the shutter being pressed.

I had thought of expanding to include demolition services, but if I were to take up wedding photography I suppose I could also include marriage counselling and divorce facilitation.

Photographing History

We saw two very interesting documentaries over the last week or so.

The first was on Frank Hurley - an early Australian photographer - and the second on the Russian Filmmaker, Roman Karmen.

Both manipulated history (particularly during conflicts) to political ends using the tools available to them.

Hurley was renowned for compositing multiple images to communicate the 'feeling' he experienced at a particular moment. This could be as simple as substituting the more dramatic sky through to very complex operettas involving dive bombing planes, explosions and much, much more.

Karmen used dramatic techniques more associated with story-telling than journalism to create a similar effect. This involved innovative (for the time) ideas of editing, POV and re-enactments.

Both were experts in Propaganda and had immense resources to hand at particular stages of their careers -- ie. having whole battalions to re-enact a scene for purely pictorial reasons.

There is a really interesting balancing between journalism, editorial and artworks. Some of Hurley's work was intensely beautiful, real or otherwise and Karmen's films are often literally moving photographs.