Learning Resource: Faces and Places

This resource is designed to provide an insight into photographic portraits from the Penrith Regional Gallery Collection. It explores an expanded notion of portraiture photography that extends to include representations of people, place and time. It can be used to complement a visit to Collection in Focus: Between Urgency and Leisure or support a unit of study on photography or portraiture. The information and activities have been created for secondary students but can be adapted to use with other learning stages.

Artists Harold David, Lyndal Irons, Ladstreet, Selina Ou, David Porter, Greg Semu and Craig Walsh represent a diverse and varied snapshot of Penrith and western Sydney as it has changed and grown over the last sixty years. With a clear focus on capturing people in their own spaces, and on their own terms, the artists in Between Urgency and Leisure share a respect of their subjects, and an interest in how the everyday may be translated through photography into the iconic.

Discuss
What types of portraiture have you encountered before? For example, school photographs, family albums, or paintings from the Archibald Prize.

Do you think that all of these examples can be described as artworks? Why or why not?

Discuss:
Looking at the photographs by Greg Semu and Lyndal Irons below, discuss:

- Who is in the photograph?  

- What does the image reveal about them?  

- How have social, community, or cultural issues been represented in the artwork? Use the cultural framework to help answer this question.

Greg Semu is a multidisciplinary artist, frequently addressing issues of cultural displacement and colonial impact on indigenous cultures. His work strongly critiques historical narratives by questioning accuracies around representation and loss of cultural authenticity.

Lyndal Irons is a Sydney-based photographer and writer focused on local reportage, and interested in seeking out parts of Australian society that are familiar, accessible, yet not often closely encountered. Lyndal is a former Penrith resident and avid NRL fan.

Create:
Plan a portrait of someone from your community. How will you show what is important about them through an image?

Discuss: 
Compare the images by Ladstreet and David Porter. What similarities and differences do you notice?

The intention of my body of work and practice is to document the multi-faceted components of identity, and its proximity to subculture and community. My work explores how identity is a reflection of the lived experience and material world around us, and the various ways our identity is articulated and expressed through the trials and tribulations of suffering and joy, and it being nurtured through mutualism and community. 

Ladstreet

Create:
Take a photograph that you believe captures a particular moment or place. What scene, objects, or people will you include to tell this story? 

"The work will mature with each passing year, causing viewers to ask: Who were these people then and who are they now? Where did they come from and where are they now? How did they live then, and now?" - Greg Semu 2008  

Discuss:
Looking at the images by Craig Walsh and Harold David below:

Do you think the interpretation of these photographs has changed since they were taken nearly 20 years ago? Do you think they will be seen differently in the future?

Think about your own collection of photos on your phone or social media. How do you think they will be perceived in 10 years time?

Over the last 30 years, Australian artist Craig Walsh has become widely known for his pioneering works including innovative approaches to working in unconventional sites. His large-scale portrait projections have animated trees, rivers and mountains addressing both connections between people and their surroundings and conversations around whose stories are upheld and shared.

Harold David is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Blue Mountains. After establishing himself as one of Australia’s premier portrait photographers, Harold turned his focus to painting, a passion he first discovered as a young boy growing up in the United States. Harold’s professional experiences as an editorial and fashion photographer contribute to the sense of sartorial flair of the people captured in these works.