Dedications

A series of portrait photographs that are an intersection of surrealism and realism. Williams photographs people close to her, not to reveal a truth about them, but to describe a feeling of recollection and nostalgia.

The photographs in Dedications are an intersection of surrealism and realism. They linger between telling the truth and distorting the truth. The chemical effect embodies an image one might conjure in a dream or memory, and they appear as if the image could be wiped away at any second. Eventually our memories of people will appear similarly to these photographs: blemished, hazy around the edges and obscured by foggy information. I have taken portraits of people close to me not to reveal a truth about them, but instead to describe a feeling of recollection and nostalgia.

Claire Williams graduated with Honours from the School of Art at the Australian National University in 2016 and is a recipient of the PhotoAccess Emerging Artist Support Scheme artist-in-residency. Claire uses an experimental technique of developing black and white negatives for twenty-four hours, creating a unique effect on the negative that is visually similar to either solarization or the Sabatier effect. By chemically manipulating the surface of the film, the viewer is reminded that the supposed reality it describes can be easily altered. Claire’s work questions notions of truth in photographic portraiture, and explores memory, trust and sincerity.

Artist In Conversation event with Claire Williams, Ricky Lloyd and Jennifer Minns
2pm, Sunday 10 December 2017