In an age when discussions of identity politics are swirling through both mainstream and alternative media, the idea of who among us are relegated to ‘the margins’ of society is intriguing to consider.
Curators Theo Costantino, Lee Kinsella and Brent Harrison, in partnership with Perth Centre for Photography (PCP), wade someway into this territory in their show de-centre re-centre – a group exhibition showcasing artists whose works “use photography to challenge dynamics of visibility and power”.
The 16 artists they have chosen offer many diverse perspectives – especially around ideas of social subjugation and (its opposite) the right to personal and/or collective expression.
There are, however, two artists whose works stand out as most deserving of close attention and expanded critique.
First, Fijian-Australian artist Torika Bolatagici’s photographic series First in Family (after Munari) 2019, provides clever commentary on the all-too invisible social barriers that are still in the way for many people from minority groups when it comes to fair and equal opportunity to participate – especially within systems of education and work.
Using the innovative mid-century Italian designer Bruno Munari’s work Seeking Comfort in an Uncomfortable Chair (1944) as her reference point, Bolatagici’s First in Family (after Munari) explores how difficult it can be for anyone whose identity does not readily conform with the ‘typical’ or dominant societal group to find a secure, middle-class footing within many of its spaces.
Also resonant is Bolatagici’s seven-minute video work Value Form (2023). Set on a seemingly ubiquitous basketball court, it isn’t long before its curved and gridded ground lines appear as a metaphorical rulebook that is keeping a young female basketball player confined to certain ‘moves’, which she makes in attack or defence.
While some screen-based contemporary art is a struggle to sit through from beginning to end, this piece is not. It’s very compelling – even when viewed a second time.
Also deserving of extended time is artist Ramak Bamzar’s photographic portrait series, comprising the works Scene 2, A Warrior’s Adornment (2023) and Scene 3, The Hero’s Gaze (2023).
Both show young female figures delicately adorned with what, in any other context, would be seen as marks of beauty – their bodies and faces being covered in precisely-placed red-glitter decorative paint.
But Bamzar’s vision transforms these ‘beauty’ marks into stains of fresh physical injuries where they appear as violent wounds of domestic abuse. Both images leave haunting impressions in their strange and poetic representations of physical and emotional trauma.
Aside from these standouts, there are in fact many other interesting pieces to consider in this show, including stunning shots by Sherry Quiambao, Brenda L Croft and Amos Gebhardt (but you will just have to see those, and others, for yourself).
Read: Exhibition review: Blak In-Justice, Heide Museum of Modern Art
Overall, it is certainly cohesive and well-considered show in its survey of a diverse range of artists’ work – with images that also prove the ongoing relevance (and power) of the photographic medium in the wider context of contemporary art.
de-centre re-centre is at Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, the University of Western Australia until 3 May; free.
