Ever looked at an old photograph of past family members and wondered who they could be and what they are doing at that particular moment that the picture was taken? Artist Harley Oliver has taken that question and turned it into an art exhibition that explores his past photos and what they mean.
‘Dad Took a Picture’ is an exploration of dated old photographs and the unknown subjects that inhabit those pictures. The exhibition wants to focus on the forgotten and encourage people to decide who the subjects really are.
Harley said of the exhibition, “My dad took lots of photos and whenever we went through them he could provide a pretty good running commentary about who was who and how their lives had played out. But now, there’s often a gap in the narration, I don’t remember the details as he did.”
Harley was struck by the people he couldn’t place in the photographs his father took many years ago. They all had personal narratives and personalities that have been lost in time. Harley wishes that he had written down the names of the people in the photographs and his father has passed so he can’t ask, which adds to the amazing mysteriousness the exhibition produces. This idea intrigued him and he created the exhibition to feature faded people of past photographs in landscapes made famous by the Australian coastline.
While looking at the paintings, guests are encouraged to fill in the gaps and make up their own stories for the subjects in the paintings, letting your imagination run wild.
Harley Oliver has spent his life working in television, with his art talents put to the side to act as a hobby. In the 1960’s, Harley attended Wimbledon Art School in London, painting english landscapes at a time where abstract minimalism was the popular art medium. After art school, Harley went on to work with the BBC as a editor, producer and director for National Geographic and the Discovery Channels in Australia and New Zealand.
These days Harley dedicates his time to his art at his studio in Rosebery, Sydney.
To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, there will be an opening night on the 9th of August at 6pm. For more information on the opening night, check out the Stanley Street Gallery website.
Where: Stanley Street Gallery, 1/52-54 Stanley Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
When: 10th August-3rd September 2016
For more information, check out the Stanley Street Gallery website.