Into the Mystic
Exhibition dates: Fri 28 October to Sat 5 November 2011
View the artworks
Previous Exhibitions
VIEW ‘INTO THE MYSTIC’ IMAGES HERE
The Damien Minton Gallery welcomes the third series of images by Sydney based photographer Stuart Spence.‘Into The Mystic’, the title of a Van Morrison song, is Spence’s new exhibition. It is a series of “performance portraits” of well known (and not so well known) Australian singer/songwriters.
Unlike most live performance rock photography however, by eliminating the clutter and paraphernalia of the stage environment, and honing in on just faces, Spence has seized upon something intensely intimate, almost other worldly. “I wanted to record where these artists go when they’re lost in their art form. In a lot of ways, it’s the best kind of portrait, one where the camera disappears in the exchange. When people are conscious of the camera, often secret walls slide up.” Images include Paul Kelly, the O’Doherty brothers, Bernie Hayes, Sarah Blasko, Claire Bowditch, Gyan, Ron Peno and Tex Perkins to name just a few.
Stuart Spence started out as a magazine photographer in Sydney in the 80′s and early 90′s, specialising in celebrity portraiture, principally shooting magazine features, record covers and advertising campaigns.
From 1986 till 1992 he produced an extensive black and white portrait exhibition called ‘Salute’, and in 1994 showed his colour portrait series ‘Lost In Face’.
From 2003-2007, Stuart devoted his time almost exclusively to fine art photography and the completion of ‘As Yet Unclear Pt 1.’, which showed at the Mary Place Gallery in Paddington, Sydney in 2007.
’As Yet Unclear Pt. 2’ (complete with artist interpretations) was shown at the Noosa Regional Gallery in Sept/Oct 2008 and the Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney as well as the MARS Gallery, Melbourne both in 2009.
In Melbourne, Stuart was commissioned to provide his images for the fit-out of a new concept apartment block called ‘Society’ in South Yarra.