People: Honorable Mention 2016 (professional)
ENTRY DESCRIPTION
In 'Pullover on head' it is the repeating pattern of head covering that brings the viewer to the picture. We see a bronze figure of a dignitary wearing a judicial wig juxtaposed with a disheveled looking young man who has a pullover on his head in an exact mimic of the statue. This coincidence is enough to make the photograph interesting, but there is another level of understanding which gives this image depth. It is clear from his elevated position on a plinth that the man in bronze comes from a background of privilege. In the photograph he is reaching out in a gesture of benevolence. Meanwhile, the young man in the photograph has an unwashed look which suggests he might be homeless. Despite their similar headgear, the photograph eludes to the unresolved socio-economic gulf between them.
AUTHOR
I was born in Toronto, Canada in 1949. I picked up a camera at the age of
eighteen after seeing the Antonioni film ‘Blow-up’ and a touring National Film
Board exhibition, ‘Call Them Canadians’. From that time on, photography has
been my passion and my professional life.
After graduating from York University (BFA, Visual Arts), I pursued an interest in black
& white social landscape photography. I exhibited widely during this time;
surviving through part-time teaching, photo sales and arts grants from the
Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.
In 1990, I immigrated to Australia where I worked as a newspaper and magazine photographer, albeit an unusual one, always with a
small Leica in my kit. Although I found photojournalism
interesting, it was never a passion and the nagging compulsion to take candid
pictures on the street remained.
These days, I live just outside Brisbane, with my wife and son. I like to walk
through the city, looking for picture possibilities – and I still carry that Leica.
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