The Photograph As Contemporary Art
Jacqueline Ball, Sophie Dumaresq & Kate Robertson

Exhibition: 27 April - 11 June, 2016

Extended Opening Hours During Gallery Weekend
Friday 29. April, 11-21h
Saturday 30. April, 11-21h
Sunday 1. May, 12-18h

Jarvis Dooney is pleased to present the work of Jacqueline Ball (Room Service, 2015), Sophie Dumaresq (An Entropic Utopia, 2015) and Kate Robertson (Circle Work, 2013); three artists who each, through the use of the artist’s studio, meticulous planning, multi-disciplined experimentation and experiential documentation, encapsulate what Charlotte Cotton referred to as The Photograph as Contemporary Art.

Despite its increased acceptance over the last 10 years amongst institutions, galleries, collectors and audiences alike, the medium of photography still manages to polarise opinions when it comes to its standing as a contemporary art form. Questions regarding the automated mechanical process; analogue vs digital source material and time required to produce the work, still leaves many people unconvinced.

This group exhibition brings together three examples of the photograph as contemporary art. Utilising it for its inherent documentary function, whilst simultaneously questioning what it means to make a photograph; each of these artists take their own unique approach to photography, which in many ways introduces a sense of uncertainty to a medium known for its truth telling ability.

Time and the hand of the artist are two elements which play a significant role in each of these artists work. Whether it be constructing elaborate architectural models from cardboard, clay, wax, plaster, metal and paint (Jacqueline Ball); experimenting with chemical reactions and their installation potential (Sophie Dumaresq); methodically using the light sensitive materials in the darkroom to build a narrative (Kate Robertson), each of these artists embrace creative means that are as much experiential and sculptural as they are archival and photographic.

Jacqueline Ball (b. 1986 Sydney, Australia) is a conceptual artist working with photography and sculpture. Building landscapes of textured objects in the studio, she creates artificial environments that evoke a sense of organic growth and decay. Recently she has begun incorporating photos from her personal archive into this work, blurring the line between photographic fiction and reality, representing a more intimate relationship between the people and spaces around her.

Since 2007 she has had regular solo exhibitions throughout Australia, as well as being included in group exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, China, Germany and Iceland. She has undertaken a number of artist residencies, including SIM, The association of Icelandic visual artists, Reykjavik, Iceland (2011) and Sillanpää Art Residency, Varistaipale, Finland (2011). Her work is included in a number of private and public art collections, including: Art Gallery New South Wales, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Kerry Stokes Collection, Artbank, University of Western Australia, Wesfarmers, and Central Institute of Technology. Jacqueline lives and works in Perth, Australia where she is currently completing her PhD (Art) at Curtin University.

Kate Robertson (b. 1981 Mount Gambier, Australia) is a photographer exploring the inner-workings of community and ways of being through photographic forms and concepts. Utilising the studio and darkroom Kate adopts many traditional photographic techniques to connect the space between contemporary art and ethnography, creating work that combines experience and documentation whilst questioning what it means to make a photograph.

Since 2006 she has had regular solo exhibitions throughout Australia, as well as being included in over 40 group exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, UK and USA. She has been the recipient of number of artists grants and residencies including, Mentone Grammar School Residency (2015) and Bowness Prize finalist (2013 & 2014). Her work is included in a number of private and public art collections, including: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Centre Permanent Collection, and Whitehorse Art Collection. Kate lives and works in Melbourne, Australia where she is currently undertaking her PhD (Arts) at RMIT University.

Sophie Dumaresq (b. 1991 Canberra, Australia) is an artist working with photography in addition to large and small scale sculptural installation. Her work explores the symbiotic cycles of consumption, destruction and creation and how they relate back to everyday experience. In 2008 she attended a student internship program at the Australian National Centre for Science and Technology. She completed her Diploma in Photography (Honours) at Speos Paris School of Photography and has participated in group exhibitions in both France and Greece. Sophie lives and works in Paris, France as well as the surrounding Ile de France Region.