Ben Apfelbaum

‘RADIANT FLUX’ AND ‘ALL AURAS TOUCH’ @ CARRIAGEWORKS

These exhibitions  at Carriageworks were launched during the Sydney Festival but have been extended beyond the January Festival period.

The first is Rebecca Baumann’s ‘Radiant Flux’. She has placed  different coloured cellophane like materials, a dichroic film, over every window and skylight in Carriageworks first hall. This is a vibrant material that shifts colour when viewed from different angles. Every glossy and reflective surface is ‘painted’ with the refracted colours which change during the time of day  and different external weather conditions. This immersive experience will be on display until the 14th June, 2020.

Kate Mitchell has photographed one representative for each of the 1,023 recognised occupations in the Australian and New Zealand STANDARD CLASSIFICATION OF OCCUPATIONS, from anaesthetist to zoologist.

In a grid like pattern, Mitchell’s work covers three walls of Carriageworks second large hall. Many of the occupations are named in a square with a corresponding ghost like person with a specific aura pertaining to the named occupation in a mosaic comprising of a myriad of different photos. Mitchell is attempting to capture a snapshot of contemporary  Australia with a  spirituality that has all but disappeared in our secular society by way of the depicted auras. ALL AURAS TOUCH reminds us that we are all energetic yet individual beings and if we are sufficiently sensitised we may be able to see the auras around people without needing to go to the North or South Pole to see such a phenomenon. This exhibition has been extended to a shorter period, until the 1st of March.

All pics by Ben Apfelbaum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.