In the closing days of the 2011 Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Robert Keeley speaks to exhibitor and veteran pro shooter Les Horvat.
With one week to go until the 2011 Ballarat International
Foto Biennale closes, visitors have one last chance to see the main “core”
exhibitions, and the many fringe shows on offer. One of the key exhibitions,
located in the Ballarat Mining Exchange in Lydiard Street, is Momentum of The
River’s Flow, a series of images from Vietnam presented by professional
shooter and educator Les Horvat.
Over a number of trips to the country Horvat,
whose own memories of the Vietnam War are influenced by his experience in just
missing out on conscription, sought to explore the country’s history of war,
and how this had influenced its people. In many instances he found the impact
surprising.
A cursory glance of Horvat’s Vietnam portfolio (taken
with a simple Nikon D300 SLR and frequently stitched together to create
panoramics) shows there is a lot more going on in his work than simply ‘travel’
snap shots. Many of Horvat’s images are of ordinary scenes of shops, fishermen,
beaches, streets, and historically important sites related to the war. He says
he likes to shoot into the light.
He then brings out detail from dark
silhouettes to let the viewer catch the faces of people, and reinforces the
colours of each scene. In several instances he has used software to stitch
together images and to create highly detailed panoramics which take in vast
sweeps of busy activity – from places as diverse as shopping districts,
docksides, and beach fronts.
Horvat says he wants his images to have “photographic
substance”, and if any digital re-working is too obvious he feels he has not
succeeded. From his first visit in 2005 Horvat toured the country on several
more occasions. He researched the country and its history extensively and used
images taken by Australian troops during the Vietnam War as a basis for his
search for locations. He says he is interested in the concept of “landscape as
a repository of memory”.
The Mining Exchange in Lydiard St North is open daily from 10am
to 4pm. The Ballarat International Foto Biennale finishes on Sunday, Sept 18.
Chua Cau Bridge, Hoi An. Photo by Les Horvat.
My Son Temple, Hoi An. Photo by Les Horvat.
Ham Ninh fishing village, Phu Quoc. Photo by Les Horvat.