Bowness Photography Prize

Link to the 2014 Bowness Photography Prize exhibition installation album.
Take a virtual tour of the the exhibition.

Bowness Photography Prize 2014

Substation butterfly on wallpaper (detail) 2013 from the series My mother's fan butterfly pigment ink-jet print 200x160cm

Its on again the Bowness Photography Prize. Congratulations to Petrina Hicks this years winner. Thanks to the Bowness Foundation and the MGA for there continued support of Australian Photographer also to the judges Siri Hayes, Angus Trumble and Shaune Lakin. 

My entry work is a meditation on a photograph I took of my mother’s electric fan - an object of luxury to her. I thought of her working in factories in Germany as a forced labourer, making parachutes. This work continues my interest in old photographs particularly as they are transposed through old printing processes.

Installation shot Courtesy of MGA

Read More: Bowness Prize

Visit: Monash Gallery of Art 

860 Ferntree Gully Road

Wheelers Hill Victoria 3150

Janina Green, Untitled (Tree with weeping willow branches)
silver gelatin print on fibre based paper 2005

I am very pleased to have work in A TREE FOR ALL amongst a field of 40 Australian and International artists who have all experienced the magic of the Cowwarr Art Space. 

I have a strong affinity with the Cowwarr Art Space, having exhibited first in a group show in 1996, then in 2009 with Maid in Hong Kong + Macau.

I have been part of the Cowwarr Art Space CAN Inc. Artist-in-Residence Program.  One while I was developing the work for "Where The Heart Is" 2009 - 60 Years of Ukrainian Immigration (Latrobe Regional Gallery) and again Be home Before Dark (Gippsland Art Gallery and the Colour Factory Gallery)

It is a fantastic place to visit, exhibit and take a residency. I highly recommend all aspects of its program and wish it a happy 20th birthday.

http://www.cowwarr.com/
Exhibition continues until the end of November,
Gallery Hrs: Fri, Sat, Sun Mon, 11-5pm

ONCE AGAIN A FINALIST IN THE BOWNESS PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE!

© Janina Green Fly on Grampians picture book (contemplating suicide)
chromogenic print 22.7 x 21.0 cm. 2013

It is a great honoured to be selected as a finalist in the 2013 Bowness Photography Prize.

I have been short-listed for the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize previously and it is always a great thrill to be included in the cream of Australian photographers. 

Quote from MGA Flickr:

....'Shaune Lakin, MGA Gallery Director said on behalf of the judging panel: ‘The caliber of work was extraordinarily high, making the selection process very difficult. The judges looked at over 2 500 images over many days and selected a field of finalists that represent the best in contemporary Australian photography.’....

Opening and Announcement: Monash Gallery of Art Thursday 3 October 2013

Exhibition dates: Friday 4 OCTOBER - Sunday 3 NOVEMBER 2013

The shortlisted work above is from my 2013 series Perfect Stranger shown at Rae & Bennett Fine Art Printers & Gallery in June this year. 

Link to MGA Bowness Photography Prize

SUB 12 @ The Substation

SUB 12, 11 July - 25 August 2013

Curator: Will Foster, Selection: Jessica Bridgfoot, Photography: Catherine Evans

SUB12 is supported by Hobsons Bay City Council & Arts Victoria

In its forth year, SUB12 is an annual program of exhibitions that presents newly created work by twelve contemporary artists, with a focus on early-career Victorian-based artists.

In 2013 The Substation is taking a different approach. The six artists selected for the exhibition have each invite another artist to participate. This decision can be seen as: a survey of the current, an invitation for risk, a dissolution of curatorial control, an opportunity for nepotism, a prompt for collaboration or simply placing the exhibition into the hands of many. Expect a radically diverse exhibition.

I was honoured to be selected by Kiron Robinson, a colleague and fellow photographer/installation artist to be included in the exhibition. It was quite a change and a delight to be exhibiting and celebrating with such a young bunch of artists.  There should be more of it.

My Mother’s Fan (2013) 

My Mother’s Fan (2013) Wallpaper,
scanned vintage images both found and from Janina's own archives.

Kiron Robinson & friends at the opening event

@ the SUB 12 opening event

My Mother’s Fan (2013) continues my interest in old photographs, particularly as they are transposed through old printing processes. This work is a meditation on a photograph I took of my mother’s electric fan: an object of luxury to her. I‘d been thinking about her working in factories in Germany as a forced labourer, making parachutes.

Kiron Robinson uses a range of media including neon, video, photography and installation to investigate the idea of doubt and failure as constructive devises. No, no, no (2013) uses sound, image and text to continue this exploration, creating a platform of surety through instability and anxiety. (extract from SUB12 catalogue)
Photography: Catherine Evans - The Substation.

Link to The Substation FB Album

Perfect Stranger, opening @ Rae & Bennett

What a great turn out to the opening of my exhibition Perfect Stranger. Thanks to all those how turned up to support me and my work and a special thanks to Directors Clare Rae and Victoria Bennett and assistant Kitty Howard. 

Established in 2010, Rae & Bennett Fine Art Printers & Gallery is a dedicated fine art printing studio and gallery space exhibiting photography and photo based work. What a joy to be involved in this exciting space.

Test strip on Kentmere Art Parchment paper from a negative 

taken at McKenzie Falls, Grampians, 2000

Silver gelatin print 115 x 73 cm

Represented by M.33, 

Perfect Stranger @ Rae & Bennett

“Travel gives us the promise of redefining ourselves, of shedding our identities and becoming something new and strange. It also holds the allure of the different, the unknown and perhaps slightly dangerous, the exotic locale, the exotic other, nature in its raw state. For previous generations this fantasy of travel was fed by our contact with the pictured image reproduced in books and magazines and encountered in cinema. This collection of images brings together musings on travel with my interest in the myriad of photographic and reproduction processes. Perfect Stranger is a photographic dream: an assemblage of images, bound either by texture or location, seen through screens of differing photographic and printing processes. Some of the images are drawn from ‘The Grampians in Colour’, a picture book from 1972 by Kenneth and Esther Stepnell and some are analogue prints from my archive.” – Janina Green, 2013

More Details www.raeandbennett.com.au

Ikea @ Edmund Pearce Gallery Melbourne

Janina Green, Pink vase - 1990 reprinted 2012, Silver gelatine print on fibre based paper,
hand-tinted with blue photo dye, 85 x 70 cm

A photograph of a simple mass produced vase. Its form the familiar vessel which so dominates Art history. Awe and wonder at how my camera magically transcribes its existence. The rendered colours amplify its quiet presence.

Ikea installed in Edmund Peace Gallery November 28 – December 15 2012

My photographs are always about the past.

The Barthesian slogan, “this has been”, is for me, “I was there”. This series of images of a vase from Ikea consists of silver gelatin prints tinted in different coloured photographic dyes; photographs of a simple mass produced vase – its form the familiar vessel which so dominates Art History.

“Ikea” for me is symbolic of the useful homely object and of the ideal home. The vase from Ikea no longer exists. The picture of that vase stands in for the vase that once existed. The photograph can be seen now – at this moment. It will continue to exist in the future. Its representation crosses time barriers.

My photographs are always documentations of a private performance.

Every photograph records what is in front of the camera, but my interest is in the occasion and the complex conditions of the making of the photograph – first the negative then the print. Each photograph ends up being a documentation of my state of mind during this intensely private moment as well as something for other people to look at.

Because of changing conditions, every one of these prints from that same negative is different. For me each analogue print is an unsteady thing. They are now relics from another era, as is the vase.

As a counterpoint to the repetition of the vase prints, I have selected four vintage works from my archive.

Edmund Pearce is a contemporary art space dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of photography. Located on Flinders Lane in the heart of Melbourne’s gallery district, Level 2, Nicholas Building 37 Swanston Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000

Link to exhibition @ Edmund Pearce Gallery

Full list of works and prices

Represented by M.33

The Age - Be Home Before Dark - Dan Rule

The Age Saturday 21 July 2012 reviewed by Dan Rule

Be Home Before Dark @ the Colour Factory

A few installation shots from Be Home Before Dark at the Colour Factory from 6 -28 July 2012. They include Jan Murray, (Head, VCA School of Art) on the left and standing next to Jan during the opening address is Phil Virgo the owner of the Colour Factory. 

Jan, had just returned from Documenta 13 in Kassel Germany and was struck by some of the analogies between the experience of visiting the home town of the Brothers Grimm the authors of the Grimm Fairy Tales and the nature of the work in Be Home Before Dark both troubling and forbidding. By some strange quirk of fate, Kassel is also close to where I was born. Childhood and Fairy Tales can have a dark side. 

A big thanks to Jan and Phil and to all who came to the opening event on Thursday night 5 July and a special thanks to Linsey Gosper and Libby Makgill for their great assistance in hanging the show. It is a great morale booster to have such a show of support for my work from colleagues, students and friends.

I am also happy to announce I will be exhibiting some of these works at the Queensland Centre for Photography,  Brisbane in September.

Be Home Before Dark @ the Colour Factory Gallery Melbourne

I do hope you can join me for the Melbourne showing of  Be home Before Dark at the Colour Factory Gallery. 
 Download the Media Release

Who's afraid of the dark? - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Who's afraid of the dark? - ABC Gippsland Vic - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Artist Janina Green has set out to recreate the spooky feel of darkness in the country through a Gippsland-based photography exhibition at the Gippsland Art Gallery 14 Jan -12 Feb 2012.

I enjoyed the interview with Cath McAloon from ABC Gippsland. I don't often feel that way about interviews!  It was also great to have a quick gear chat with ABC Photographer Rachael Lucas. A lovely bonus at the opening event of my exhibition. Thanks to all the team at the Gippsland Art Gallery and the whole experience was a fitting end to my CAN Inc. residency at the Cowwarr Art Space.

....Many of the photographs were taken in the paddocks around Cowwarr, where Janina was an artist in residence at the Cowwarr Arts Space, as well as in her home town of Yallourn North and other parts of Gippsland.

Janina has hand-painted a blue-tint to the photographs to give the prints a 'cool' look. She says it also adds an emotive element.

"The colour really does change them from being straight, sort of, documentary photographs of a real place. They become an emotional place now with the colour."

Click to listen to full interview.

Be Home Before Dark @ Gippsland Art Gallery opening Fri. 3 Feb 6:30

Be Home Before Dark

Installation, Gippsland Art Gallery, Lindsay Roberts Tech, Simon Gregg Curator with Anton Vardy Director looking on

Be Home Before Dark - JANINA GREEN

14 January to 12 February 2012 @ Gippsland Art Gallery

The menace of the everyday world at night is the subject of Gippsland artist Janina Green’s new photographic series, Be Home Before Dark.

Green’s dramatic nocturnes are inspired by memories of running home at night alone, along unmade roads with no street lighting, after overstaying evenings at friends’ houses. Ordinary objects like trees, tractors, cows and silos become laced with peril in strange and gothic landscapes. Green’s handmade and hand tinted photographic technique charges the rural darkness with an ever-shifting shadow-play.

Simon Gregg Curator Gippsland Art Gallery

OPENING: Friday 3 February 6.30pm by Carolyn Crossley, Director, Cowwarr Art Space
Janina GREEN Be Home Before Dark Catalogue

CCP Documentary Photography on Facebook

CCP Documentary Photography Award Exhibition has closed. Post from the CCP Facebook

Finalist Janina Green:The men and women in these images are six senior survivors of the 150 Ukrainian families (amongst them my own parents), who came to the Latrobe Valley 60 years ago. They had come from Displaced Persons’ camps in Germany after the Second World War to work in the powerhouse, briquette factory and coal mines. 

“Did you have to photograph me in my slippers?” was Mr Hucul’s wry response on seeing his photograph on display.

http://www.m33.net.au/artjgn1.html

The CCP Documentary Photography Award

CCP opening night, much speculation before the announcement of  the winner 

It was a hot and sultry Melbourne night on Thursday, October 27 at 6:00pm when the CCP Documentary Photography Award winner was announced. Congratulations to Thomas Breakwell who won the eighth CCP Documentary Photography Award and the $4,000 Copyright Agency Limited Cultural Fund Prize for his series Squats.
Thank you to all my supporters and well wishes. It is always an honour to be short-listed for an award.
 Link to CCP Award

CCP DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD

I am delighted  that works from my series “Did you have to photograph me in my slippers?” has been accepted in the 2011 CCP Documentary Photography Award. Other finalists are; Ying Ang, Paul Blackmore, Daniel Boetker-Smith, Thomas Breakwell, Stephen Dupont, Natalie Grono, Glendyn Ivin, Fiona Morris, Christina Simons, CJ Taylor and Lisa Wiltse.

Exhibition is in Gallery 1@ CCP from 28th October to 11 December 20011

I shall also be part of the free Artist Floor Talks @ 12pm, Saturday 29 October 2011

The CCP Documentary Photography Award is a biennial showcase of contemporary Australian documentary photography. Since the inaugural exhibition in 1997, this event has grown in profile and significance. It represents a unique, national initiative in support of documentary photography, providing a rare opportunity to assess the themes, styles and ideas that characterise this fascinating genre. This year's exhibition demonstrates the breadth of contemporary approaches to documentary practice from traditional black and white narratives through to vibrant colour recordings, all of which have been achieved without digital manipulation. Themes range from the effects of war on US Marines through to dog shows, roller derby and the annual Miss South Sudan Australia pageant.

One of the 12 finalists will be awarded the $4,000 Copyright Agency Limited Cultural Fund Prize, to be announced on opening night by Sandy Grant, Chief Executive, Director Hardie Grant Publishing and Director and Chair, Copyright Agency Limited.

Judges: Dr Isobel Crombie, Senior Curator, Photography, National Gallery of Victoria, Bill Henson, Artist, and Naomi Cass, Director, Centre for Contemporary Photography.

Link to Exhibition Preview CCP

Centre for Contemporary Photography
404 George Street, Fitzroy, Vic 3065, Australia
t + 61 3 9417 1549 e info@ccp.org.au w www.ccp.org.au
f www.facebook.com/centreforcontemporaryphotography
Gallery Hours Wednesday to Friday 11am–6pm, Saturday and Sunday 12–5pm
Night Projection Window 7 nights after dark

Excerpt Magazine Launch Party

Excerpt Magazine Launch Party

Excerpt magazine is a free quarterly online publication launching on Tuesday 8 November at www.excerptmagazine.com. Excerpt Magazine is centred on photo-based practice, with an emphasis on original content. Edited in Melbourne and featuring Australian and International artists and creatives, Excerpt Magazine challenges the archetypal magazine structure by constructing new formats.

Editors Amy Marjoram and Kate Robertson met studying at VCA and in launching Excerpt Magazine have utilised the online platform to create a boundless readership.

Joined by Creative Director Laura Gulbin and Project Supporters Lou Hubbard and Louis Porter, the Excerpt team is completely made up of practicing artists. Issue One cover artist is Lucas Blalock (US) with contributors including; Janina Green (AUS), Sanja Pahoki (AUS), Kim Guthrie (AUS), Daniel Palmer (AUS), Heather Lighton (AUS), Zhong Ling (CHN), Paul Knight (AUS works in UK), Alex Kershaw (AUS), & Ann Woo (US).

Excerpt Magazine concentrates on short pieces of text and images that together form a collection of thoughtful insights and exchanges. Within each issue an artist is asked to respond to an interview only through photos, a group of artists anonymous to each other collectively write an essay and invited artists respond visually to the cover image.

Fuelled by the editors want for a magazine that is as creative in itself as in its contents, Excerpt Magazine fills the gap. Co-Founder and Co-Editor Amy Marjoram says, “We are creating an avenue for contributors to provide content they are really interested in, without stylistic parameters. I want this to be important, relevant and fun.”

BLUSH: Enthusiastic Launch

I was very humbled by the support and enthusiasm shown at the launch of my book BLUSH (Photographs: 1988 – 2010) Published by Helen Frajman of M.33, and launched by Lou Hubbard, at PERIMETER BOOKS, 2-5 Saturday 3rd September.
Blush @ Perimeter Books  or contact M.33 to purchase your copy

A big thanks to Dan Rule and Justine Ellis of Perimeter books for hosting the launch of BLUSH. A new comer to Melbourne's crowded independent book scene Perimeter Books is a champion of independent titles and short runs and this very stylish store can be found  at 748 High Street Thornbury. Dan and Justine seen here with the card reader running hot with sales.

A very nervous me and attentive guests including Tina Smyrnios of Smyrnios Gallery Prahran, as Lou Hubbard spoke to the book. Blush brings together strands of my practice from 1988 to the present and Lou's remarks were very flattering and gave the gathered crowed a great insight into my work.

Here I am much more relaxed, after the official launch with my VCA colleague and artist friend Lou Hubbard.

Many thanks to Helen Frajman of M.33 my dealer and publisher of Blush. It has been a long ambition of mine to publish a collection of my photographs without Helen it would not have happened.  The launch was very much a celebration of that partnership in this publication.

Chatting with Georgia Metaxis, photographer and VCA colleague Kiron Robinson and photomedia artist is about to swoop on to a glass of Narkoojee Yorkie's Gully Rose a perfect Gippsland wine for the occasion. I developed a taste for Narkoojee Wine since I have been staying at the Cowwarr Art Space. 

http://www.narkoojee.com

Photomedia artists Jane Burton and Elisabeth Gertzakis chat with Helen Frajman.

BLUSH-Book Launch Sat. 3rd Sep. 3-5pm.

BLUSH by JANINA GREEN  (Photographs: 1988 – 2010) Published by M.33, 

To be launched by Lou Hubbard, artist on Sat, September 3, 2011, 3-5pm 

@ PERIMETER BOOKS 748 High Street Thornbury 3071

t: 61 3 9484 8101 

e: hello@perimeterbooks.com

Janina-Green-Blush @ www.perimeterbooks.com

Blush brings together strands of Janina Green’s practice from 1988 to the present. The obsessions and themes which have underpinned her work meander together in a dream - like stream of consciousness to form a whole body of work which is simultaneously delicate, intimate, sensual and faintly disconcerting. 

Green’s beautiful hand coloured portraits of young adults and images from the natural world sit beside her constructed photographs of domestic dysfunction and constructed narrative images dealing with childhood, motherhood, female friendship and fantasy. Running throughout are small punctuations of tiny moments of fragile beauty. 

Sofia Ahlberg writing in an essay in the publication says: “Blush is writing on the body: instinctive, transparent, immediate. Suggestive of modesty, embarrassment, and shame, blushing has become the signifier of femininity. However, a blush is also something applied by women on their own bodies in order to enhance their womanliness and perhaps disguise something in the process.” 

The work in Blush is embedded within a profoundly feminine sensibility and animated by Green’s curiosity about the way the camera obfuscates or clarifies reality.   Janina Green’s work is held in a number of significant public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Monash Gallery of Art, the Art Gallery of South Australia, Horsham Regional Gallery, Griffith University, Gippsland Art Gallery and the Rotterdam Art Foundation in the Netherlands.

JANINA GREEN BLUSH (Photographs: 1988 – 2010) 

Published by M.33, Melbourne, 2011, 92 pages, full colour images, 260 x 210mm 

With an essay by Dr Sofia Ahlberg, English Program La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia 

Edited by Helen Frajman ISBN: 978-0-9579553-8-7 Hard Cover: AUD $55 (inc gst)

For further information and distribution enquiries contact 
Helen Frajman, Director M.33 
T: 61 3 9527 1547
E: hfrajman@m33.net.au 
W: www.m33.net.au