THE magic of the camera obscura will be revealed in a contemporary photography exhibition coming to the Millicent Gallery.
Robyn Stacey: Ray of Light will be on display from March 8.
For the exhibition, eight large-scale camera obscura photographs by the contemporary Australian artist Robyn Stacey will be displayed for the first time in Millicent.
First shown as part of the 2016 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Magic Object, Stacey’s camera obscura photographs depict an optical device of wonder, whereby the external world is trapped and inverted within the room.
The exhibition features camera obscura photographs of iconic and well-known sites around Adelaide, including the Brookman Building at the University of South Australia, Carrick Hill, The Cedars at Hahndorf, the Institute Building, The Lighthouse Wharf Hotel in Port Adelaide, Parliament House and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
In the artist’s words these bewildering photographs become “a mash up of inside and outside”.
“The magic of the camera obscura is that it makes us question what we take for granted, the everyday experience is presented upside down and in reverse, mimicking the way an image forms on the retina,” Ms Stacey said. “In some photographs cars drive over the ceiling and the sky and clouds cover the floor… it’s like being in a movie where you are in the world but removed from it at the same time.”
Millicent gallery manager Janice Nitschke said four local female photographers will be invited to hang works in conjunction with the exhibition.
Robyn Stacey: Ray of Light runs until April 7 at the Millicent Gallery.
A live camera obscura will be installed at Millicent Gallery for the duration of the exhibition.
