Biography
I was apprenticed as a photographer in Salzburg under the professional guidance of Ingrid von Tautscher. Her studio was renowned for portraits of artists and performers from the Salzburger Festivals. In 1994 I immigrated with my daughter to Australia, where I first worked as a freelance photographer for several studios in and around Sydney and later Brisbane. In 2001 I moved to Melbourne where, together with Jacqueline Mitelman, I set up the Paterson Studios. In 2007 I moved to Tasmania where I gained a BFA degree at the School of Fine Arts in 2017.
In Melbourne I began to develop a body of work on cityscapes and urban landscapes, using large- and medium-format cameras. Inspired by Albert Renger-Patzsch, Joseph Sudek, David Plowden, Charles Sheeler and others, I discovered abstract spaces within the urban/industrial landscape that evoke play and contemplation. I processed the negatives in PMK, a negative developer made famous by Ansel Adams and Edward Weston, which increased the dynamic range of tonality, giving my final prints an outstanding quality. I learned how to realize this intrinsic print quality in the digital medium in color photography through the techniques established by Les Walkling. Like Walkling, I am drawn to the rich aesthetic and tactile richness of contemplative detail which serves as a base for an open dialog that speaks to the viewer. In my work, print quality is intrinsic to what I’m trying to communicate. I don’t just deal in concepts, but rely on our aesthetic sense of the print in color, texture, and tonality.
My recent work revolves around the inter-zone of industry, technology, and landscape. Following the paths of the industrial history here in Tasmania, I found the debris of an industrial landscape. It is an archeological journey of an industrial civilization that made Tasmania into the place it is today. The main body of this revolves around photographic prints but I am also developing a video and soundscape on the subject of ‘Interzone’.
Workshops Given
- 2010: Gallery Fotohof in Salzburg on Urban Nightscape
- 2003: Portrait Workshops with Jaquline Mittelman at Paterson Studios.
Exhibitions
- 2009: Cato Gallery (Victorian Artist Society) Melbourne, FACES OF MELBOURNE – Portraits and Urban Landscapes.
- 2009: REFLECTIONS ON BEAUTY AND DECAY and other matters. Group Exhibition Rosny ‘The Barn and Schoolhouse Gallery’ currated by Michael Denholm.
- 2005: Light, Line, Texture. Red Lion Gallery (Phillip Island, Victoria).
