Floor Talk Series: Voices of Sue Ford
Sue Ford, Annette, 1962; Annette, 1974 (1962-1974); (1974) {printed} from the Time series (1962-74) gelatin silver photograph 11.1 x 20.1 cm National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased with the assistance of the Visual Arts Board and the KODAK (Australasia) Pty Ltd Fund, 1974 PH170.a-b-1974 © Courtesy of the artist
Artist or Artworker? How did practitioners see themselves in the 60’s or 70’s
Speaker Ponch Hawkes, artist
Ponch Hawkes developed her photographic practice in the 1970s, informed by counter-cultural, feminist, documentary and community art contexts. Join her as she discusses artistic life in the 70s and the revolution that redefined artists as workers during this period.
Date: Sunday 15th June, 12.30pm
Venue: The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, Level 2, Temporary Exhibitions
Free. All Welcome. No bookings required.
About the Exhibition
Sue Ford was a pioneer of Australian photography, and one of the most important practitioners to emerge in the wave of 1970s feminist photographers. This retrospective exhibition celebrates her artistic life and career. It brings together key photographs, digital prints, collages and films created over an almost fifty-year period, as well as important archival materials.
Ford’s work was both personal and political, and shows a fascination with private, shared and forgotten histories. Several concurrent strands become apparent when surveying Sue Ford’s practice, such as the influence of personal biography and a questioning of identity; an interest in gender issues and an advocacy and promotion of women in art and feminism more broadly; a serious connection to social discourse and contemporary politics; and a passionate interest in reconsidering and discussing the histories of Australia and its Indigenous people.
Her prolific output also allows for a survey of the development of her unique experimentation with photographic, film, printing and multimedia techniques since the 1960s – processes which were connected, from the very beginning, by an interest in the politics of representation.
The Sue Ford exhibition is on at the NGV Australia until 24th August 2014.