Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up

November 29, 2013

Friday Round Up - 29 November

This week on Friday Round Up Sean Gallagher heads to India, three new exhibitions for Melbourne - Bill Henson, Guy Vinciguerra and Melbourne Now, Alison Stieven-Taylor's feature interview with Barat Ali Batoor this year's winner of the Nikon-Walkley Photo of the Year Award and more.

Photo Project:
Sean Gallagher - Toxic Development: Pollution in India

Sean Gallagher is one of the most respected photojournalists covering environmental issues today. He’s embarked on a new project with the aid of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to document the effects of pollution in India from both an environmental and social perspective.

In my opinion toxic waste, and particularly e-waste, is one of the greatest threats we face in the Digital Age and Gallagher’s unique visual insight and his erudition bring focus to this grossly under-reported issue. You can follow his work at Project Live – India!

Exhibition:
Guy Vinciguerra – Metropolis

I first came across Italian-born photographer Guy Vinciguerra’s work at this year’s Ballarat International Foto Biennale with his exhibition of photographs shot in China, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as part of his ten year exploration of the Silk Road.

In his new exhibition opening at the Colour Factory next week Vinciguerra presents a series of monochrome images of Tokyo and its inhabitants in the series “Metropolis”. Of this series he says he wanted to “draw attention to the restraints that are imposed on us, those we impose on ourselves and the universal absurdity of life”.

(C) All photos Guy Vinciguerra

Metropolis
5 December 2013 to 25 January 2014
Colour Factory Gallery
409-429 Gore Street
Fitzroy (Melbourne)

Exhibition:
Bill Henson – Untitled 1985/86

Currently on show at Tolarno Galleries in Melbourne is a selection of works by renowned Australian photographic artist Bill Henson. These photographs feature both portraits and landscapes and give an insight into the breadth of his oeuvre and his talent to create photographs that are like painterly still lifes. This is a rare opportunity to see the works of one of our truly great artists in his hometown.

Bill Henson
Untitled 1985/86
Until 14 December 2013
Tolarno Galleries
Level 4 104 Exhibition St
Melbourne

Award:
Barat Ali Batoor – Walkley Award Winner

Earlier this year I interviewed a young Afghan photojournalist about his extraordinary photo essay – the Unseen Road to Asylum – which documented his flight from Indonesia to Australia on board a boat that sank at sea. Last night in Brisbane (Australia), Barat Ali Batoor, who is now settled in Australia, accepted the inaugural award for Photo of the Year and Feature/Photographic Essay in the 2013 Nikon-Walkley Awards for Excellence in Photojournalism. Congratulations! To read my feature interview with Batoor, please click on the Feature Articles tab at the top of this blog.

Photo Essay:
Denis Sinyakov – The Changing Face of Russia

Photographer Denis Sinyakov’s photo essay – The Changing Face of Russia - shows a country unsuccessfully grappling with the influx of low paid labour from Central Asia and a declining “native” population. Many new residents are illegal migrants who have fled from their homelands of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan where there is a high rate of unemployment and the economic outlook dismal. Sinyakov says these immigrants are “despised by most natives” creating a volatile atmosphere in a country that is still reeling from the collapse of the Soviet empire and the economic fissure that continues to divide the country.

Sinyakov was one of 30 people arrested in September at the Greenpeace protest on Artic oil drilling. He was released from jail in St. Petersburg on 21 November.

Sinyakov released from jail

Exhibition:
Melbourne Now

More than 400 artists and over 250 artworks, installations and photographs comprise a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria - Melbourne Now – which is on until March 2014.

Reportedly curated to reflect the “complexity of Melbourne and its unique and dynamic cultural identity” Melbourne Now presents a diverse range of creative pursuits, but I have to say I am somewhat disappointed that the photographic line up features what could be termed “the usual suspects” and there is nothing very “new” or "now" about the content. From a curatorial perspective the net could have been thrown wider to encompass cutting edge concepts, experimental works and photographic art being created by lesser known artists.