Ben Apfelbaum

STEVE WAUGH ‘THE SPIRIT OF CRICKET – INDIA’ EXHIBITION

Created with support from acclaimed photographer Trent Parke and Canon Australia, the show presents more than 70 images depicting Steve Waugh’s passion for photography, India and cricket.

Waugh began documenting the lives of locals in India during various trips he undertook over his sporting career, starting in 1986. But he only had a chance to immerse himself in the daily routines of the locals on a personal level in 2020, when ‘The Spirit of Cricket – India’ was born.

To snap the images in this exhibition Waugh and his entourage travelled extensively through India journeying, in 19 days,  to Mumbai in the south, Bangalore, Calcutta, Rajasthan desert, the foothills of the Himalayas, to name some of the destinations.

Perhaps some of the most powerful photographs illustrate the skills and determination of physically challenged and blind cricketers.

A documentary of this trip will screen on ABC Television on Tuesday 17th November at 8.30 pm.

The exhibition runs from 31 October until 11 January 2021 at The Playbox, 21 Oxford Street Paddington, and is open Wednesdays to Saturdays between 12:00 and 6:00 pm and Sundays from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Entry is by gold coin donation to The Steve Waugh Foundation.

“Sport has given me lifelong memories, charity has given me life changing moments” Steve Waugh AO

The  Steve Waugh Foundation is taking on the challenge of improving the lives of children and families affected by a rare disease. Its focus is a commitment to a coordinated approach to the service, identification, treatment and research of rare diseases primarily concentrating on children from birth to twenty-five years.

The rare disease patient is the orphan of the health system, often without diagnosis, without treatment, without research, and therefore, without reason to hope. The Steve Waugh Foundation. is working to help change things for children with a rare disease by giving hope.

http://www.stevewaughfoundation.com.au 

Bookings to the photographic exhibition are not required but numbers are limited to 10 people in the gallery at one time to adhere to strict social distancing requirements.

The current exhibition coincides with the release of a large format photo book of the same title, which contains 220 images. The book is on sale at the gallery.

All images 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.