Graham Beattie in his element

Graham Beattie has a blog - http://beattiesbookblog.blogspot.com/ - a must go for anybody who is seriously into books. Graham passionately shares his ideas, reviews and anecdotes, most certainly a daily visit is sure to keep a smile on any book lovers face. This is my reply to Graham's blog about my blog, with an image of my friend I made this morning at Moa Hunter Books in Ponsonby Road Auckland. The book in Graham's hand was published in Paris in 1834, (have to work Paris in here somewhere) and is titled Pierre et sa famille. I'm sure blogger Beattie has read it by now and a review is underway as I blog.

My House My Head

My exhibition My House My Head opens at the Satellite Gallery Tuesday of next week June 5th. Here is what I've written about it. With few exceptions photographers mostly investigate other worlds, worlds outside their own. For the last fifteen years or so, this has been the basis of my practice. A dispassionate on-looker. Now, with this series, My House My Head, I am both the observer and the observed. I have turned the camera on myself, my life, to try and make sense of my world. To make a "snapshot" in time, to record the ordinary, my passions, my thoughts, what I see, what makes me, me. But when am I the observer? When am I the observed? This dichotomy makes the pictures for me emotionally loaded and highly subjective. Is it possible to separate these two opposing positions? Can I be in any way objective? Am I only making pictures I want you to see? I want to see? These questions interrogate the very nature of process. The very nature of me.
This work is about change, impermanence, attachment, balance, family and my work. About location and distance and time passing. About memory, desire, love, passion, food and sex. Short on formalism, my pictures have always asked the viewer to bring something of themselves to the work to aid its reading. What can you bring from your life to help you read mine? What can you take from my life to help you better understand your own? Is my life so unusual? Only you can decide.

20th Century photographs from the Seresin collection

Opening June 1st the Auckland Museum will show the Seresin collection of iconic 20th century photographs. The show
includes vintage prints by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Andre Kertesz, Eugene Atget, Josef Sudek, Bill Brandt, Mario Giacomelli and G.H. Brassai among others. Included is one of my all time favourite images the Kertesz Satiric Dancer, made in 1926. At 11am on Monday June 4 I will be at the Museum to talk about the show and what the collection means to me.

Blue-Beard's Workshop

It was a pleasure last night for me to meet and entertain the French Paris based writer Pierre Furlan, in Auckland to launch his new book of short stories Blue-Beard's Workshop published by Victoria University Press. Pierre will speak today at the Writers and Readers Festival. Extra special for me to have two of my pictures on the covers of the book, here they are....

Two portraits today

I made two portraits today. First of my friend Shelley in her army shirt. This is the last picture I need for my Short History book.
It works and Shelley's anchor tattoo gives the picture an edge. Second picture was of my dear friend Rowena. It's Ro's partner Michael's birthday today (a big one) and the picture is a little birthday surprize. Here they are:

NZ's Favourite

The image on the right is also in Webbs sale May 31st, as seen here at the Matakana Gallery.

Auckland Festival - WORLD Window

Although this is history now, for the record, here is picture of my window installation for Auckland Festival AK07 - back in March.

Stephan Zaubitzer at Cannes

Stephan Zaubitzer will be showing his wonderul cinema pictures Les "Cinémas Populaires" au Pavillon des Cinémas du Sud à Cannes 2007. The images are from Burkina Faso, Maroc, Madagascar, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The exhibtion opens May 16 and runs until the 27th. This follows the showing he recently had in New York at the Lincoln Centre.

Photo London opens May 31st

Another reason to be in London!
In less than 3 weeks, Photo-london will open its doors from 31 May to 3 June 2007 at Old Billingsgate. The 2007 edition brings together a mix of 56 exhibitors from 10 countries. Present at the fair will be the work of some 400 international photographers and artists, providing a view of contemporary photography and its development since 1970. Among the special events, there will be a programme of talks bringing together leading international experts to explore the questions of how to build a collection, the evolution of contemporary photography and the influence of photojournalism, the importance and future of the photo-book and the growing interest in non-Western photography. Brought to you by the good people that run Paris Photo.

Photography at auction

On May 31st Webbs Auckland will be holding a photography sale, my Tokyo Girl No 1 is in that sale. Strange but true Christies London are having a photography sale on the same day. A little more heated than Auckland. You can see their catalogue on line at http://www.christies.com/departments/pho/overview.asp Look for Christies Photo Book sale on the same day. Oh to be in London.

Bruce's Glasses

Bruce Connew and Catherine Griffiths were in Auckland last week following their trip to Italy to do a press pass of Bruce's new book Stopover. I couldn't resist making a self portrait wearing Bruce's crazy new Italian glasses where Billy Apple meets Truman Capote.

Come Home - new edition in Cologne

A couple of weekends ago Steff Adams curated and presented a new and 8th edition, KOMMEN SIE NACH HAUSE, of her Come Home project, this time in her house in Cologne. I provided Steff with an image of my house and my head (made by Martin Parr in Rome last year) and she sent me a picture of its installation.

Not in Rome this year

April 2006 I was in Rome for the Fotografia Festival Internazionale and the exhibition wonder-land that I curated for the festival. This year, still in Auckland and contemplating the first New Zealand winter for me in 10 or 12 years.