On Show At The ACP - Zed Nelson and Olivia Martin-McGuire

The Australian Center of Photography (ACP) is the nations longest running contemporary art space. The two current series of work on exhibition, 'Love Me' by Zed Nelson and 'Sleepers' by Olivia Martin-McGuire, could not have been in greater contrast in relation to intention and philosophy. 'Love Me' is a collection of images that explores societal values and the persistent quest for physical perfection. The subjects of Nelson's series features school girls, pageant entrants, body builders, vaginal reconstruction surgery candidates, Iranian's queuing for nose jobs, plastic surgery junkies and New Yorkers having foot surgery to fit into Jimmy Choo shoes. Nelson's series negotiates the boundaries between documentary and artistic photography. The harsh bright lighting of the photographs encourages the viewer to judge the subjects, within the portraits, based purely on physical appearance, an irony considering the the work sets out to challenge this trend. The series is successful in highlighting the ill health of a society obsessed with physical appearance. I left the exhibition with a disgust for the superficiality of society and almost a sense of despair.



In almost stark contrast Olivia Martin McGuire's work 'Sleepers' is a series that captures subjects transitioning into the uninhibited realm of the unconscious. The production quality of the works was achieved through the use of a medium format camera, allowing the artist to produce large scale prints which maintain fine detail with crisp accuracy. All images of the 'Sleepers' were shot in the artists studio on the same bed, adorned with pale yellow sheets, allowing a sense of unity throughout the series. Due to the large scale, sense of vulnerability and the sheer lack of inhibition of the subjects, the works are intensely intimate.