Photos: Sydney Life 2010 (24 Sep 2010)

It's that time of the year where the northern walkway of Sydney's Hyde Park becomes an outdoor gallery for 22 large scale 3x2m canvas printed photographs. The exhibition is now called Sydney Life and is part of the month long Art and About Festival. The exhibition has been held annually since at least 2002 (that is my first recollection at least). Unfortunately, the web site for each years exhibition is overwritten by the coming years exhibition. Would be nice if there was a permanent archive, though I do have the programmes for each years selection.

Collage - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010
On the afternoon of the second day of the exhibition (Fri 24 Sep 2010) I took a wander along the walkway to see what had been selected for this years exhibition. It was not a surprise to see Tamara Dean and Dean Sewell featuring again with another couple of stunning photos.

I always photograph all the photos in position in the Park, and this year I used my iPhone and sent the photos to a folder in my picasa account.

I often think some photos have been selected because they fit so well into the location and the framing each position along the walkway provides. In the morning the photos along the eastern walkway are backlit and in the afternoon the west side photos are backlit.

Lynn Smith's photo of an abandoned Industrial Warehouse seems to be beautifully framed by the branches of the trees in the backgound. They interact with the rafters on the warehouse's roof.

The Judges choice for this year exhibition was Nick May's black and white photo of a Bondi beach scene. They said:

"It was a difficult choice for the judges with many fine photographs to choose from but we were drawn to Nicholas May's timeless and unforgettable image showing Sydney as an almost mythic place of relaxation on Australia Day. It's a sculptural, deeply unsentimental observation of Australians at play and the cultural ambiguities found on Sydney's most famous beach."

Apart from Lynn Smith's photo, I also enjoy James Hill's elevated view of the Five Ways in Paddington using a large format camera. There is a lot going on in the photo and I will go back to look at it in more detail.

Finally, I think Tamara Dean's photo, The Pack, from her Series This Too Shall Pass is a beautifully delicate photo, which is a signature element in many of her photos. Must admit I don't really understand it, but it is beautiful to look at in the afternoon before the sun disappears early behind the city sky line. It really did stand out.

Will take a walk to see what the light does to the photos in the morning.

[Post note: A great article on last year's Sydney Life - Sydney Life, 1 October 2009 - not obvious which photographer it was who put this together. Would like to see the documentary. ]

Proof Sheet - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Nick May - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Geoff Harvey - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

James Hill - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Lynn Smith (flickr) - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Paris Spellson - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Tamara Dean (more) - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Gregory McBean - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Tom Williams - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Steve Christo - Sydney Life 2010 - Hyde Park/Sydney - Fri 24 Sep 2010

Sydney Life 2006 (3-22 Oct 2006)

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Sydney Life

Every year, around 500,000 people come to see Sydney Life in Hyde Park North. The resonance of these images, and their evocative setting in one of Sydney’s most popular public spaces, provides a unique representation of the city’s amazing variety.

From 800 images submitted by 410 photographers, 26 artworks have been chosen by a panel of judges. Again, there is a good mix of established and emerging artists from across the spectrum of the art form, including press, documentary and art photography.

The emphasis this year seems to be upon Sydneysiders enjoying their leisure time. Portraits of people flourishing in their domestic environments such as Joanne Saad’s ‘Karaoke Friends, 2006’, Danny Huynh’s man with his chook in Fairfield, or Martin Mischkulnig’s ‘Ingrid Hoffman with her collection of ‘50s and ‘60s aprons,’ capture worlds hidden behind the suburban fence. Just outside, Adrian Brown’s ‘Cul de Sac 7’ argues that housing estate dead-ends are the place where the next generation of Socceroos are building their skills.

Some photos dwell on the diversity of the city’s subcultures, while others encompass broader cultural activities such as the outdoor cinema and surfing, or capture the beauty of Sydney’s iconic parks. This year’s images are mainly celebratory in tone, however, there are some which speak to alienation, both human and from the natural environment, such as Beverley Veasey’s wonderful ‘Goat, Capra Hircus, at the Royal Easter Show.’

I would like to thank the City of Sydney and AMP Capital Investors for their support of the project. Thank you, too, to my fellow judges. Finally and foremost, thank you to the photographers for capturing with such poignancy the many possibilities for life this wonderful city offers.

The Sydney Life Prize, valued at $10,000, is comprised of $5,000 in cash from the City of Sydney plus a $5,000 investment in the AMP Capital Investors Sustainable Future Australian Share Fund. It will be awarded for the most outstanding work in the exhibition, as decided by a distinguished panel of judges: Sandy Edwards (Curator, Sydney Life and Curator, Stills Gallery), Alan Davies (Curator of Photographs, State Library of NSW) and Bec Dean (Curator, Australian Centre for Photography).

Sandy Edwards, Curator Sydney Life

The diversity of Sydney’s communities is magnificently captured in these photographs mounted on large-scalecanvas against the leafy backdrop of Hyde Park North. Take a wander down the central boulevard and admire these stellar images.

FREE SYDNEY LIFE
CURATORIAL TOURS
Wednesday 18 October and
Saturday 21 October at 1pm
Bookings Essential:
Telephone (02) 9246 7626

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The Photographers and their Photos

Gregory McBean - The Baron and Baroness de Boyd (a.k.a. John and Jeanette)
Martin Mischkulnig - Ingrid Hanging her Aprons
Adrian Brown - Cul-de-sac 7
Jonathan Reid - Sydney Park – St Peters
Marco Bok - Mitch and Kay, Hyde Park, 1 July 2006
Kelly Mitchell - Skaters – Martin Place
Tamara Dean - Harmony Day
Beverley Veasey - Study of a Goat, Capra Hircus, at the Royal Easter Show
Steven Siewert - Not a Dry Eye in the House
Quentin Jones - Surfing from Space
Peter Solness - Dharawal Engravings and Sydney Skyline
Martin Mischkulnig - Guan Wei in Boat
Vera Hong - Rebecca
Steve Christo - Fire in his Belly.
Karl Sharp - “Revolution” (soccer fans)
Moshe Rosenzveig - Tango
Anne Zahalka - Chinese New Year Parade
Paul Blackmore - Backyard Wedding
Sasha Ruth Woolley - Natasha, 2005 (From the Limelight Series)
Danny Huynh - Culture and Cultivation
Steven Lojewski - Without a Trace, Enmore, 2006
Belinda Allen - Sacred Site – Angophoras, Royal National Park
Jeff Darmanin - Autumn in Sydney, 2006
Annette Willis - Niki and José 2006
Lee Valentine - Red

At www.archive.org - Sydney Life 2006, Art and About 2006
At Google: Programme (pdf as html)

Sydney Life 2012 (21 Sep - 21 Oct 2012)

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21 SEPTEMBER - 21 OCTOBER 2012
CENTRAL WALKWAY
HYDE PARK NORTH

With a unique lens on who we are and the city we live in, the finalists in this year’s much-loved Sydney Life exhibition capture our city in fresh and surprising ways.From a close-up on the personal to a wide-angle view on our collective joys and sorrows, the stunning large-scale photographs of this year’s 22 finalists are as diverse, interesting and exciting as Sydney itself. Wander beneath the canopy of leaves and see images that reveal a city which never ceases to fascinate.

Sydney Life Tours

Join Sydney Life judge Sandy Edwards for a free tour of this year’s exhibition.

Meet at Archibald Fountain.

Friday 21 September, 7-8pm
Saturday 13 October, 2-3pm

Hyde Park North
Free

Sydney Life judging panel

Liane Rossler

Known as a passionate ambassador for issues relating to design and the environment, Liane presented Happy Talk with Heidi Dokulil at last year’s Art & About Sydney. Other recent work includes Supercyclers, a design project focused on clever and beautiful re-use of waste shown at Milan Design Week. Liane was also a co-founder and former designer and director of Dinosaur Designs.

Moshe Rosenzveig

Moshe Rosenzveig is the founder and director of Head On Photo Festival, the world’s second-largest event of its kind which runs in Sydney annually in May.

His career spans over 30 years as a photojournalist, commercial photographer, educator and an award winning television producer/director whose work has been screened, published and exhibited in Australia and overseas.

Sandy Edwards

Sandyis the founder of ARTHERE – an organisation that provides services to photographers for exhibitions and projects in Sydney and Australia. She is also a curator at Stills Gallery,Sydney’s most established photography gallery
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The Sydney Life Prize

Congratulations to Sally McInerney, the 2012 winner of the Sydney Life Prize. The judges determined that Sally’s image ‘Shark in pool, Dover Heights’ was the most outstanding work in the selection of 22 finalists, and have awarded her the prize of $10,000.
The 2012 Sydney Life Prize - Sally McInerney - Shark in pool

The Finalists

1. 01 Adrian Cook (*) / blog (*): Dog Day Afternoon. Winner of the Wenty Park Mongrel Cup 2011.


2. Marco Bok (*) / SMH:Tue 10 Jan 2006 (*): Lifesavers Bondi Beach. Candid photo of a lifesaving exercise. From a large unpublished series on Bondi Beach made whilst living there.


3. Garry Trinh (*) / Google (*): Super Size Hamburger. A re-examining of everyday life in Sydney.


4. Graham Monro (*) / blog (*): Modern Family. A typical Sydney family in 2012, everyone is connected, but no one is talking.


5. Jennifer Blau (*) / blog (*): It’s time to wake up and become sustainable. Walking in the bush opposite her home on Sydney’s North Shore, Robyn calls for a more sustainable life.


6. Maylei Hunt (*) / Google (*): Let Them Eat Wedding Cake. Sydney residents have been taking the streets to protest for the Equal Rights for Gay Marriage in Australia. It’s time.


7. Ingvar Keene (*): Cormac Malabar Pool. Last light and last swim after a long hot summer day.


8. Louise Whelan (*) / Google (*): By the Pool. Kira Hula Hoops beside the pool for the 75th Anniversary of North Sydney Pool.


9. Lyndal Irons (*) / blog (*): Wash n’ Wax Ronaldinho. Youths spend Saturday night playing football at a late night carwash in Concord. From the series Parramatta Road.


10. Jenny Evans (*) / Google (*): Above Sydney. Dudley Page Reserve in Dover Heights provides a stunning view of Sydney Harbour.


11. Hugh Peterswald (*) / Google (*): Celebrity Wave Sydneysiders crowd to see US television celebrity Oprah as she leaves from her lunch in Bondi.


12. Matt Kaarma (*) / Google (*): Contact. Whilst Sydney parties, dines and dances, soldiers stationed on the outskirts of the city train hard for war.


13. Tamara Dean (*): Chelsea & Caroline Hibernian House. From my new series depicting images of young contemporary Australian women within their environments.


14. Daniel Gibbs (*) / blog (*): Secret Women’s Business. Girls on a school excursion in Botany Bay National Park huddle around an Aboriginal Elder to learn some secrets; I was excluded!


15. Roman Balla (*): Winter Sunseekers. My mother is 86 this year. On sunny winters days she tries to warm herself and her guinea pig "Squeek".


16. Richard Payne (*): Women Shopping in Auburn. Sydney is a diverse city and I wanted to show the diversity of life through an image of an every day activity.


17. Sally McInerney (*) / Google (*): Shark in pool, Dover Heights. Someone had added a shark to an estate agent’s auction sign overlooking the ocean.


18. Alex Davies (*) / Google (*): Hubub. Justin Shoulder drifts through Hyde Park as Hubub during APEC protests Sydney.


19. Ann-Maree Moodie (*) / Google (*): Bunnies on the Line. Sometimes there is such a thing as too much lovin’ and intervention is required – warm, soapy water and a day in the sun hanging from the quintessential icon of the Australian backyard.


20. Bryce Watanasoponwong (*): We look great. Three Sikh followers view their self-posed image, taken on a mobile phone, during the Vaisakhi festival at Martin Place.


21. Cassandra French (*): Historic Chinese Market Gardens. I would love to see these heritage gardens protected and preserved. They are under serious threat from the neighbouring cemetery which is looking for more land for burial plot


22. Deb Kent (*): Cake on a Hot Summer’s Day. On a sweltering hot summers day the rosy cheeked party girls stand watching their cakes melt away.

Sydney Life 2004 (5-24 Oct 2004)

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This is the third year of this exciting large-scale photographic exhibition in Hyde Park. The reasons for its success and popularity are many. The elegant main avenure of Hyde Park, with its arching trees, makes for an inspiring natural gallery. Placing art in this iconic Sydney setting encourages passers-by to linger that little bit longer.

The photographers have embraced the opportunity to have their images exhibited in this remarkable large scale on canvas form. The City of Sydney's decision to award a first prize of $5,000 has given further strength to the exhibition. This year sees a higher percentage of established and well-known photographers, as well as younger photographers.

In choosing the images for Sydney Life, we looked for unique and truthful statements that reflect Sydney diversity and vitality as a City. The 26 striking and varied images, are proof of the fascinating place in which we work, live and play.

I would like to thank all the photographers who contributed their vision and the City of Sydney for their support and belief in this unique project.

Sandy Edwards, Curator Sydney Life

sydney life

CENTRAL WALKWAY
HYDE PARK NORTH

This large scale photographic exhibition displayed along the central walkway of Hyde Park creates an open-air gallery against the leafy backdrop of the Park.

Twenty-six photographs have been chosen from 1400 entries ot create an impressive visual experience reflecting the diversity and uniqueness of Sydney Life.

The City of Sydney Photography Prize: For the first time, a $5,000 prize will be awarded to the most outstanding work, judged by a panel of distinguished judges, including Anne Zahalka (renowned Sydney-based photomedia artist), Karra Rees (Project Manager, Australian Centre for Photography) and Steven Lojewski (documentary photographer and Senior Lecturer in photomedia, Sydney College of the Arts)

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The Photographers and their Photos

Marco Bok - April and Crystal Roberts
Tamara Dean - The Dancers
Joshua Glenn Heath - Training
Mick Tsikas - Epiphany in Paradise
Fiona Morris - Reclain the Streets
Michael Amendolia - Rites of Passage - Cutting the Cake
Matt Hoyle - Mark
Debra Phillips - Mirror
Tom Williams - Father and Daughter on a Bicycle
Steven Siewert - Haunted
Joshua Glenn Heath - Corner Store
Paolo Talbert - Midsummer Eve
Ingvar Kenne - Untitled
Neil Bailey - Dawn Fraser Swimming Pool
Lisa Hogben - Past, Present and Future
Andrew Mamo - The Tree House
Anthony Sayers - Sixteen Feet
Tamara Dean - Donna's first Swim
Wendy McDougall - Everyone Loves a Parade
Sasha Ruth Woolley - Danae of Darlington, 2004
William Yang - "Ladder" Cooks River, Marrickville South, 2004
Petrina Hicks - Zeinab
Paul Blackmore - Bra Boys
Dean Sewell - Pool Shark
Sophie Howarth - Rumplestillskin, the Lilipilly Stage, Big Day Out
Dean Lewins - Big Day Out

At www.archive.org - Sydney Life 2004 and Art and About 2004

Sydney Life 2005 (4-23 Oct 2005)

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Sydney Life 2005 (4-23 Oct 2005)

Sydney Life is one Sydney's most successful art projects. The leafy main boulevard of Hyde Park North provides a superb backdrop for these large-scale photographic slices of Sydney Life that offers insights and delight to Sydneysiders and visitors, day and night.

Selected by a panel of judges from an open submission, Sydney Life is both a prestigious and democratic exhibition, giving the opportunity for both experienced aand emerging photographers to have their work displayed. Twenty-six artworks have been selected from almost 900 images by 450 photographers. The image judged the best is awarded the $5,000 City of Sydney Photography Prize.

The selection this year is a tad more serious than in previous ones. A mood of surprise and eccentricity contrasts with the images of recreation and water that have dominated the exhibition in prior years.

As curator, I believe such developments reflect the growing strength and longevity of this wonderful project. I would like to thank the City of Sydney for their ongoing support of photography and artistic endeavour. I would also like to thank the photographers for their visions of the City we know and love. It is their commitment to portraying our world which creates the iamges that become etched in our collective memories.

Thank you also to my fellow judges, Pat Corrigan AM (Art Patron) and Russell Storer (Curator, Museum of Contempory Art).

Sandy Edwards, Curator Sydney Life

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The Photographers and their Photos

Robert Billington - The Last Tanners of Sydney
Cherine Fahd - Looking Glass, Luna Park 2
Geoffrey Day - The Last Stand
Moshe Rosenzveig - Yasmina
Jim Anderson - The Quick and the Dead
Fiona Morris - Fair Day
Tara Johns - Mujtabas Dinner
John Ogden - West meets East
Anni Payne - James the Shark
Alina Gozin'a - Old Timers
Joshua Glenn Heath - Breathing City Lights
David Hancock - Rose and Lance, La Perouse, June 2005
Andre Martin - Homebush Bay Hill
Petrina Hicks - Deb
Peter Rae - Returned Mother and Her Child
Vera Hong - Daniel, Liverpool City Motel, the Home of Sweat Dreams
Therese Sweeney - Simon packs Coriander
Ingvar Kenne - Tempe Plane Spotting
Dean Sewell - Hillsdale
Alan Tan - Boxing
Hayley Craig - Ani Preparing for her Wedding
Ruby Davies - Athletes 1 (Pegasus)
Neil Bailey - Reptile House
Martin Mischkulnig - Danny
Willian Yang - Rainbow Angels, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gra, 2003
Tim Barker - Donald

At www.archive.org - Catalogue (pdf), Sydney Life 2005, and Art and About 2005

Sydney Life 2011 (23 Sep - 23 Oct 2011)

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Art and About
Sydney Life

23 Sep - 23 Oct 2011
Central Walkway
Hyde Park North

Ten years ago (*), the first Sydney Life exhibition captured our city in a series of striking large-scale photographic images, on show in the beautiful central walkway of Hyde Park North. A decade later, Sydney Life is a much-loved annual event bringing friends and families to delight in images that look beyond the iconic. This year, 22 finalists bring their own unique vision to Sydney to this stunning exhibition.

Sydney Life Judging Panel

• Andrew Quilty (*) - Andrew has won a World Press Photo Award and a Walkley Young Photojournalist of the Year Award. His work has been commissioned by The New York Times, The Guardian, Time Magazine and others, and has been exhibited extensively.


• Anna Davis (*) - Anna is an artist and Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art. She has worked with numerous Australian and international artists on a range of projects and exhibitions, and contributes regularly to to MCA publications and public programmes.


• Moshe Rosenzveg (*) - Moshe is the founder and curator of the Head On Prize, one of Australia's major photographic exhibitions. He is a photojournalist, commercial photographer, educator and an award winning producer/director.


• Sand Edwards (*) - Sandy is the founder of ARTHERE, an organisation providing services to photographers to have exhibitions in Australia. She is also a Curator at the Stills Gallery, Sydney's most established photogallery.

Sydney Life Tours

Take a tour of this year's entries with Sydney Life judge Sandy Edwards. Meet at Archibald Fountain.

Fri 23 Sep 2011, 7pm
Sat 15 Oct 2011, 2pm
Hyde Park North
Cost: Free

The Sydney Life Prize

Awarded to the most outstanding work in the exhibition, the $10,000 Sydney Life Prize comprises $5,000 cast from the City of Sydney and $5,000 from Major Sponsor Olympus.

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The Photographers and their Photographs

• Jacinta Van Lint (*) - Avoca Street


• Louise Whelan (*) - Backyard BBQ


• Adrian Brown (*) - Mother, Maya & the Markets


• Gary Trinh (*) - Looking Back


• Gemma Quilty (*) - Disposable Days


• Dean Sewell (*) - The Wait


• Dean Tirkot (*) - Fish Head


• Will Williams (*) - It's Like Sunlight Dripping


• Barry Slade (*) - Just Maybe they Do


• Bruce York (*) - George and Hay


• Brent M V Winstone (* and *) - Australia Square


• Lyndal Irons (*) - Friday Afternoon at Dog Groomers Inner West. From the Series Parramatta Road. (*)


• Peter Morgan (*) - Dinner of Kings


• Franky Tsang (*) - Couples


• Julie Sundberg (*) - Lunchtime at TAFE


• James Bickwood (*) - VOID (Sydney Life Prize Winner)


• Fiona Morris (*) - Suzan and Gum pose outside their home


• Luc Remond (*) - The Front


• Janie Barret (*) - Oliver


• Liam Potts (*) - Busk... Before...


• Janie News (*) - Sydney Harbour Storm


• John Fryz (*) - Gnome of Narrabeen

Sydney Life, Sydney Life 2011