Last week I was fortunate to be invited to attend a movement workshop facilitated by Jill Orr, hosted by the Centre for Theatre & Performance at Monash University.  The workshop was directed toward PhD candidates in performance but happily for me was open to other attendees. 

I took my camera along and was able to capture some images during the last session of the day. A single spotlight and a room full of bodies in movement was pretty much a photographer’s dream…

All the love to my friend Zoe for watching my kids for the day so I could indulge my passions.

Jill Orr movement workshop still

Jill Orr movement workshop still

Jill Orr movement workshop still

I’m excited to announce that 2 of my photographs from Mother have been included in the exhibition of finalists for the MAMA Art Foundation National Photographic Prize. The exhibition will be officially opened on Friday evening at Murray Art Museum in Albury.

This series was sparked by my personal journey into motherhood and the slow revelation of the extent and diversity of individual struggle within this role. I am so grateful to my models for allowing me to visualise their own struggle. It is deeply rewarding to discover others are interested in the work and for it to be out there being seen.

You can view all the finalists’ images here http://www.mamalbury.com.au/get-involved/mama-art-foundation/national-photographic-prize/2016-finalists

Danielle Smelter, Mother #1 2015, digital c-type print on aluminium, 30.0 x 30.0cm

Danielle Smelter, Mother #5 2016, digital c-type print on aluminium, 30.0 x 30.0cm

Edition II Sleepover Club

I’m feeling honoured to have been accepted as a contributor to Edition II of Sleepover Club. I submitted images from my series Mother along with a short essay which is a reflection on the project and its engagement with intersectional feminism.  

The Sleepover Club initiative is a platform for promoting creative work that is ‘in alignment with feminist theory and discussion’. I’m almost done reading the other contributions and now that the kids are asleep I am just about to sit down and watch the video works by Sasa Tatic.

Yesterday I had the privilege to photograph the interior of a house that belonged to a widower of many years who recently passed on. I knew this man to say hello to although his English was limited. To walk through his home before it is demolished was touching and melancholy. I found myself building narratives about his final years and former life. In actuality the house is not currently as he left it as the contents have been picked over and the finer furniture and possessions removed. What is left paints a sad picture but the story is a construction…

This is a small preview of the some of the images.

Danielle Smelter, Abide (doorstep), 2016

Danielle Smelter, Abide, 2016.

Danielle Smelter, Abide, 2016.

I submitted an image to Photobook Melbourne’s Photo Award 2016 which is currently on display at the Boyd School Studios until 20 February.  The theme for the award was #memory_archive and my image Dissociation from the series In Absentia seemed perfect for the theme, evocative of childhood family dinners and also as a physical recreation of a recalled scene.  

The award also entails a print swap so I can look forward to receiving another entrant’s image in the post once the exhibition is over. I think that is such a lovely concept. 

There is a diverse range of photography included in the exhibition and because the work of all entrants has been printed and is available for viewing there is a broad sense of engagement with the theme.  Try to visit before the exhibition closes this weekend.

Installation view PBM Photo Award 2016 #memory_archive

Installation view PBM Photo Award 2016 #memory_archive

Last year I felt like I was being brave, claiming the identity of artist for the first time but in reality it was all baby steps and done almost apologetically and with some level of embarrassment.  I have decided 2016 is all about being brave, really brave, and owning what it is I aspire to.

So I have updated my bio to focus on the present and removed all apologetic and explanatory notes that seemed to say, “I’m trying to do this now, but previously I was doing that and it was kind of related but I’m not really ready to own this yet because everyone might just laugh at me”.  2016 is about owning it all.  

In that spirit I am submitting applications for a number of opportunities to get my photography out there and hopefully receive some constructive feedback and even some future opportunities for development and growth. First submission already done and dusted is to the Photobook Melbourne Photo Award 2016 which opens on 4th February. I have a group exhibition coming up in April with Tribe for Art.

I also want to commit to seeing through my vision for my series In Absentia and I think I will start pursuing opportunities to exhibit the yet to be completed full body of work in the second half of this year. And with all this exhibiting in mind I want to commit to attending Les Walkling’s workshop on the digital print at CCP this year (fingers crossed he runs it). I think if I really want to get serious about producing quality artwork then this will prove an invaluable confidence booster when it comes to bridging the space between screen and print.

So that’s it, my 2016 artist manifesto of aspirations set out in black and white to hold me accountable.  As for my arts consultancy I plan to actively get out there and network to find new clients. New clients mean exposure to new art, ideas and opportunities and should also bring in some revenue to fund that digital print workshop and all those exhibition prints. Yeah, that will work out just right.

What are your 2016 art goals?  Can I help you achieve them? 

I’m really honoured to have the first image from my series Mother featured in the December 2015 issue of BubbaWest Magazine alongside the work of fellow photographer Suzie Blake.

You can pick up a free issue at cafes, shops and libraries around the Western suburbs or read it online at: https://issuu.com/bubbawestmagazine/docs/bw_ed_4_for_issuu

BubbaWest Magazine issue 4 December 2015

BubbaWest Magazine issue 4 December 2015.

I have recently begun work on a new photographic series titled Mother.  Inspired by the various real and/or potential experiences of feeling judged, restricted or discriminated against due to my own status as a mother I am trying to visually capture other women’s experiences through this project. I came up with the concept of using hazard tape to highlight the act of transgression against which society rails. My first image is of a mother breast feeding her toddler, an act that has recently sparked divisive debate in mainstream media following the Time magazine cover. The second image in the series features a mother reclaiming the bikini for the first time in her ‘post baby body’, a reflection of the pressure women feel to attain the perfect body - an ideal increasingly unattainable following pregnancy.

Danielle Smelter, Mother #1, 2015

I've been a little quiet online lately because I've been really busy with several projects, one of which is this website I have been developing for actor, director, theatre educator and academic Jaime Dörner. 

Jaime is originally from Chile but was working in New Zealand for several years before being invited to undertake a PhD in Theatre Studies at Monash University here in Melbourne.

This website is an opportunity to display his previous projects and hopefully develop some new professional opportunities and networks.  So if you like what you see please share his website with anyone you know who loves theatre.

www.jaimedorner.com

Jaime Dörner - The River

Jaime Dörner - The Strange and Distant Land of Nonsense

Jaime Dörner - King Lear

Jaime Dörner - Madame de Sade

St the

e be u

I’m very honoured to have my work Distraction selected as a finalist in the inaugural Maggie Diaz Photography Prize for Women.  The exhibition of finalists is currently on display at Brightspace Gallery in St Kilda until 19 September.

I made it along to the opening and prize announcement on the 3 September, there was a large crowd in attendance and I met a couple of the other finalists.  The winner was a beautiful image, Lost in Paris by Leesa O’Reilly, and one of only two images not to feature people. My personal favourite, Fortune Teller by Helga Leunig, received a special recommendation by the judges which left a smile on my face. 

If you can’t make it to the exhibition in person the finalists can be viewed online at http://www.maggiediazprize.com/the-finalists.html