THE Odyssey’s exhibition at Warwick Art Gallery opening this week shows how the the camera lens changed the lives of two women.
Warwick photographers Chris Wallace and Annie Bradford have a special friendship that has been strengthened by their love of nature and photography.
Their life journeys have been challenging but they are quick to explain that they rise to the challenge through the power of their friendship.
Together they conquered their loneliness when their children left home, they coped with illness around them and they continued trying to live positively.
Annie Bradford said their lives had been touched by tragedy but their friendship and photography dragged them through with the exquisite mystery of nature becoming the metaphor for the highs on lows of life’s journey.
“All through these times our friendship survived and in our worst moments we called on each other and we learnt that friendship is very special”, she said.
“Photography has taught us to see the beauty in nature and the diversity in the world around us. It has opened our eyes and our minds.
“We now look at the distorted movement of the trees, the leaf floundering on the water and the majestic building reaching for the cloud filled sky with a new appreciation”.
Each image in the exhibition Odyssey tells its own story and has its own mood.
“So here we are still delving into the mystery of what can be found in the most unusual part of nature”, Ms Wallace said.
“Photographs also, for us, contain feelings that we may have trouble conveying any other way”.
To capture the colour and abstract shapes in the photographs involved the two women chasing light and the weather and included setting off in a kayak or balancing precariously on a slippery rock.
None of the images in the exhibition have been manipulated on the computer. The colours and abstract shapes were captured by looking at the detail of the subject and the reflections or influences of light and movement.
Gallery director Karina Devine said she was thrilled to welcome Annie and Chris back to the Gallery. They exhibited at the Gallery in 2007 in an exhibition called Following the Water.
“This new exhibition Odyssey really demonstrates the contemplative theme of Annie ad Chris photography” Ms Devine said.
“The exhibition as a whole story is incredibly emotional and touching. It has a resounding message that we can all learn from”.
Odyssey is a registered event with the Queensland Festival of Photography, an initiative of the Queensland Centre for Photography. The Festival of Photography is a biennial event that celebrates photo media across regional and metropolitan Queensland.
What: Odyssey
When: Thursday 20 March to Sunday 11 May
Where: Warwick Art Gallery, 49 Albion Street, Warwick.
Interested: The gallery is open Tuesdays to Fridays 10am to 4pm and weekends 10am to 1pm. Odyssey is free of charge.
