ENTRY DESCRIPTION
Pinhole photography is very much hands-on and really does create a kind of spirit. For me, it is photography born of a cardboard box with no view finder, only a pinhole to allow light onto a paper negative, where the exposure time is guesswork and frankly, anything can and does actually happen.

Because Covid was an indoor pose, the exposure was up to 14 minutes long. This meant sitting as still as a statue. As I sat there, I had little idea what the camera was choosing to focus on but hoped serendipity would grace herself and bestow an exquisite result. It’s about inviting chance into a process and respecting that very little will ever go to plan.
The resulting image has a recognisable idiosyncratic aesthetic. It is an analogue image as opposed to something digital. They are time and light crafted.

AUTHOR
VIKY GARDEN
Born Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, currently living in Auckland.

Since the age of 15, I have predominantly used myself as the model for my work. Through this singular practice and over the course of four decades, I have explored the transitory nature of change and impermanence, themes that offer a framework to consider personal and universal aspects of the female experience.

Having made my first pinhole camera in 2018, I have since had exhibitions of my photographic images and won awards and honorary mentions, the most recent being the Self Portrait Category in the 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Photographic Award 2020, Barcelona, Spain.

A multi-disciplined artist, my work is held in private collections in New Zealand, Australia, UK, Canada, USA, and Europe.

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