The Head On Photo Festival, from 12 May to 8 June, promises a line-up of provocative and diverse images, presented in some of Sydney's landmark art galleries, public spaces and community sites.
The largest photography festival in Australia, Head On has been a major platform for discovering new talent, building photographers' profiles and delivering thought-provoking photographs since it started five years ago.
Mosche Rosenzveig, Head On Photo Festival director, said the festival's 140 exhibitions reflect a broad range of social issues and the changing face of photography.
"This year, Head On exhibitions cover everything from domestic violence and mental health, through celebrity culture, fine art and landscape to the latest in mobile phone photography and multimedia.''
An exhibition and workshop by award-winning US photographer Benjamin Lowy is among this year's highlights. Lowy's work shot in Iraq, Darfur and Afghanistan has received awards from World Press Photo, POYi, PDN, Communication Arts, American Photography and the Society for Publication Design. His exhibition is at Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Oxford Street and Oatley Road, Paddington.
Lowy will also host a 24-hour workshop for photographers who wish to challenge and enhance their skills at a series of mystery location shoots. They are likely to include Bondi Beach, Sydney Harbour and Kings Cross.
Photo by Ben Lowy.
Some iconic images from world-renowned photographer Mary Ellen Mark promise to be a major attraction at the Stills Gallery in Paddington, her first solo exhibiton in Australia. From the haunting portrait of a street child dressed in her Halloween costume, to the eccentricities of the Indian circus, Mark's images are as she describes them, "full of ironies, often humorous and sometimes sad, beautiful and ugly, loving and at times cruel, but always human''. In addition to these images, is a selection of photographs taken in Australia in 1988 featuring the Aboriginal community in Redfern and migrants from Lebanon, Vietnam and other countries.
Photo by Mary Ellen Mark.
The Gaffa Creative Precinct at Clarence Street in Sydney's CBD hosts Sara Lewkowicz's gritty insight into domestic abuse, Shane and Maggie: An Intimate Look at Domestic Viloence. Presented by the Alexia Foundation, it aims to portray domestic abuse as a process, looking at how a pattern of abuse develops and the effects on victims, their families and their abusers.
Equally provoking is Sudarios by Erika Diettes, a collection of black and white photos featuring Colombian women who witnessed the torture and murder of their loved ones. The 20 photographs are printed on two-metre silk panels and will be displayed at St Canice Church, Elizabeth Bay, which has a long tradition of championing the vulnerable.
Photo by Sara Lewkowicz.
On a lighter note, Richard & Famous explores Richard Simpkin's life over 24 consecutive years and the celebrities he encountered during that time. Much of Simpkin's work is from an era before camera phones and other handheld devices, a period of innocence between fan and celebrity that today is lost. It is showing at Westfield Bondi Junction, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction.
The inaugural Mobile Phone Award Finalists exhibition at the Depot II Gallery, 2 Danks St, Waterlooo celebrates the use of new technology and its accessibility to everyone. The 30 images challenge the concept that only stunning images are shot from big heavy cameras.
Another first at Danks Street is the Multimedia Award collection, featuring short pieces that combine visual art, sound art, moving images and other media. It is at the Brenda May Gallery.
Photo by Sara Lewkowicz.
