From Sharne Wolff…
Whoever it was that claimed “the camera never lies” clearly assumed that a photograph is always an honest depiction of the real world. Current exhibitions by Mark Kimber and Megan Jenkinson use different means of exploring the truth in an image. Kimber is known for photographing his own exquisite handmade dioramas that, without intense enquiry, appear to depict reality. In Side Show Valley numerous references to art historical work, historical figures and film have provided ample fuel for a wealth of weird and wonderful characters. Often cinematically inspired, Kimber’s images are as quirky as they are totally absorbing.
Although they’re available on the Gallery website, the works in Jenkinson’s Transfigurations exhibition are not easy to view online no matter how far you shift from side to side in front of the screen. That’s because this new series from the well-known New Zealand photographer displays Jenkinson’s latest experiment in the medium – each work comprises a concertina of two separate images within a single panoramic print. Representing various transitions in the natural world and developed via a combination of the latest digital technology and simple old-fashioned techniques, Jenkinson’s ‘sculptural splicings’ fall somewhere between recognisable narratives and vehicles for wondrous contemplation.
Until September 20
Stills Gallery, Paddington
Pic: Megan Jenkinson, wind fall 2012 [detail], Concertina Ultrachrome inkjet print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag139 x 47.5 cm, edition of 5 + 1AP. Courtesy the artist and Stills Gallery.
