An exhibition detailing the lives of reformed Californian gang members will be showing soon at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney as part of the Head On Festival.
‘Desert Ink’, an exhibition by award-winning Australian photographer Jonathan May, will be on show at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney as part of the Head On Photo Festival from May 1 to 11.
The striking series of 24 black and white photographs documents the lives of eight Mexican tattoo artists from Indio, California who have left a life of gang banging, shoot-outs, drug dealing and jail to form a new kind of gang, united by art and their determination to earn a decent living.
The series captures the spirit of the men, Chip Flores, Daniel "Dreamer" Giron, Adam “Sinner” Lerma, G. Arenas, Angel Castro and Roman Luna as they attempt to rise from the trappings of their past. May was drawn to the group after a chance meeting with a mutual friend.
May says he was intrigued by their story, so he travelled to Indio to meet the group, who allowed him into their world. May said, “I was fortunate to be presented with the rare opportunity to visit these fascinating men and see how they have used their love of tattoo artistry to tell their individual stories and transform not only their lives, but the lives of other young men in their community who admire and respect them.”
May says, “Each of their personal stories are as dramatic and complex as their depictions.” The highlight of the exhibition is the image titled ‘Angel, Sinner, and Lazz', which is a finalist in this year’s Head On Portrait Prize. The winner of the Head On Portrait Prize will be announced at the official festival launch on Friday, May 1.
Jonathan May is an award-winning Australian photographer and commercial artist represented in Sydney, Los Angeles and Moscow. He is a six-time finalist in Australia’s most critically acclaimed photographic portrait competition, the Head On Portrait Prize, which he won in 2013. His celebrated work, ‘The Embrace’ was selected as a finalist in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize, and was exhibited in The National Portrait Gallery in London in 2011. This year is the sixth year in a row that May has been selected as a finalist in the Head On Portrait Prize, which he was awarded in 2013 with his image ‘Stanford’, a portrait of a young Kenyan boy in a Spiderman costume.
The 'Desert Ink' exhibition will be on show at Gaffa Gallery, 281 Clarence Street, Sydney from May 1 to 11. The gallery is open Monday to Friday, from 10am to 6pm, and on Saturdays from 11am to 5pm. For more information please visit www.headon.com.au/exhibitions/desert-ink and www.jonathanmayphotography.com.
The highlight of the 'Desert Ink' exhibition is the image titled ‘Angel, Sinner, and Lazz', which is a finalist in this year’s Head On Portrait Prize.
