See the world through the eyes of another.
The 2019 Ballarat International Foto Biennale makes its long-awaited return to the culturally vibrant city. This year’s program tackles human exploration, intervention, conflict and race, among other hard-hitting topics that currently dominate the national conversation.
The festival has its eyes set this year on photographers who capture the world in unconventional and unpredictable ways. It makes sense that photographer and social activist Liu Bolin will be headlining this year’s event with his exhibition Camouflage. Curated by Emma Thomson, the exhibition celebrates two decades of work by Bolin. His catalogue tends to feature painted human bodies that blend into everyday surroundings and explore the tense relationship between China and its residents.
Biennale artistic director Fiona Sweet said Bolin’s work is a powerful activist tool.
“[Bolin’s] astonishing work has long grappled with the concerns facing a globalised world. Combining body art, optical art, living sculpture and photography, Bolin’s work turns disappearance into an active expression of resistance.”
To celebrate 50 years since man first landed on the moon, To The Moon and Back will demonstrate how insignificant we truly are by showcasing a photo collection of outer space and the technology we use to travel there. The exhibition will run at the Ballarat Municipal Observatory and Museum.
The biennale is also home to the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize. Finalists on the shortlist include some of the greatest living photographers: Alex Ellinghausen, Jeff Busby, Penelope Hunt, Sanjeev Singh, Thuy Vy and Mia Mala McDonald have all made the cut. The subjects who let their faces be preserved include Paul Kelly, Julia Gillard, author Helen Garner and Indigenous actor David Gulpilil. The winner of the prize will be announced Sunday August 25.
The Ballarat International Foto Biennale will take place between Saturday August 24 and Sunday October 20. For more info, head to the festival website.
