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Never So Visible proposes the importance of personal experience and investigation in photography through the inclusion of six visual artists working with the medium. Diverse histories, environments and experiences converge in the gallery space, revealing six approaches to personal photography practice from all over the world; from India to China, Romania to Australia. With shared philosophies and appreciations, the chosen artists present elements of personal intimacy and engagement with their subjects, connecting themselves – and the viewers – with who and what is important to them.
This exhibition has been curated for NorthSite by Pacific Centre for Photographic Arts (PCPA).
(Nur) Aishah Kenton grew up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Aishah graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (2018), where she majored in photography at the School of Art and Design. In 2018 Aishah was awarded an Emerging Artist Support Scheme Award for her graduating exhibition To Whom it May Concern. The award was given by the Goulburn Regional Gallery, where her most recent series of work was exhibited in 2019/20.
Aishah was a finalist in the 2017 Maggie Diaz Photography Prize for Women. In 2020 Aishah was awarded a coveted spot in the 2020 Chico Portfolio Review in Montana, USA.
Ovidiu Gordan (1984) lives and works in the small town of Simleu Silvaniei, Romania.
“I like to say that man is stuck in time, obsessed by form and so photography is my futile way of stopping time. The most mysterious thing is that there is a complexity about photography that seems to be reminiscent of life itself and people can project onto photography an endless amount of alternative realities. I see photography as one of the most important art mediums as it can show us the human condition in its most rawest form. What we as humans perceive to be visually interesting is for me endlessly fascinating. I like to say my main subject matter is what Brancusi called the essence of things, always inwardly looking for the unspectacular, private and ephemeral things that make up life. I feel the connection I have with the people and places I photograph must be sincere for my photographs to be effective and so I only take pictures of my immediate surroundings with people I know and love.”
Sancintya Mohini Simpson is a descendent of indentured labourers sent from India to work on colonial sugar plantations in South Africa. Her work navigates the complexities of migration, memory and trauma through addressing gaps and silences within the colonial archive, moving between painting, video, poetry and performance to develop narratives and rituals. Her practice is grounded in collaboration and community engagement, connecting wider narratives surrounding descendants of indenture and their diaspora communities.
Spiro Miralis lives in Sydney, NSW. His first self-published book Zero was published in 2006. Spiro shies away from calling himself a photographer. If any definition of him (as an artist) is required, he will give in to that of being an auteur.
“The photography just happens. I have no control over that. It’s a time and a place and an experience. Where photography really starts for me, is in the process of editing, that is where the work really comes together.”
Based in Calcutta, Soham Gupta’s work constantly moves between the realm of documentary photography, art and the written word. He responds to themes of loneliness and isolation, of abuse and pain, of scarred pasts and uncertain futures, sexual tensions and existential dilemmas.
Zhu Mo was born in Changsha, Hunan Province and is now based in Beijing. His works were selected in the Three Shadows Photography Award in 2012, exhibited in the first Beijing Photo Biennial in 2013, and in PHOTOFAIRS Shanghai in 2014. In 2012, his photography collection “The Emptiness” was published by French independent publisher Edition Bessard. In 2014, his photography collection “Bright, Bright Day” was published by Chinese independent publisher Jiazazhi Press. In 2019, he was awarded the Abigail Cohen Fellowship from the Magnum Foundation and ChinaFile.In 2021, his books “Chinese Contemporary Photography Catalogue: Zhu Mo” was published. He is co-founder of the independent photography magazine “altertrue”.
