Redland Art Gallery, 18 March – 24 April 2012

The Open Door, showcasing more than 30 photographs from the Daryl Hewson collection, is an exhibition curated for the Queensland Festival for Photography 4 at Redland Art Gallery.

The Open Door is based upon photographs that aim to evoke affinity to nature and human habitation, specifically focusing on the dualism of exterior vs. interior. Along with rarities from his collection, the exhibition encompasses some of his most recent acquisitions, self-portraits and his portraits by artist friends as well as audio excerpts from an interview on “how to collect photography” with Daryl Hewson and Maurice Ortega.

Recurring themes in Daryl’s collection are water, portraiture, and uncommon scenery imbued with a kind of latent energy. Australian seascapes and its beach culture relate to freedom; a time spent outside at the beach. Accompanying iconic mages of Max Dupain, Naralle Autio and Anne Zahalka, viewers observe their desire for such unobstructed scenery in the photographs of domestic spaces that are rich in visual detail but beautifully claustrophobic at times. Against a backdrop of highly populated cities and the constant influx of traffic, desolate and lifeless roads imitate a post-apocalyptic scene following the aftermath of destructive human interventions. Caught in a liminal moment and lingering to resist normative behaviour, these vast landscapes urge us to reflect and pause upon the surroundings we live in.

Curated by Yavuz Erkan