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Darren Siwes

artmaking & practice

Darren Siwes

Darren Siwes specialises in photography, and utilises Cibachrome (Ilfochrome) print, the only analog process for producing photographic prints directly from color transparency film. This practice had become scarcely used since 2011 since the paper's discontinuation but had been utilised by Darren Siwes since it's discontinuation, providing his artworks with a unique style.

He uses time-lapse photography to capture the transparent 'ethereal' figures (also a reoccurring motif of his artworks) which he uses to express issues of Aboriginal identity both personal, cultural and historical. The figures are either a woman or a man of aboriginal descent standing in front of a historically significant architectural structure, signifying the integration (mostly of Siwes himself, due to the self-modeling for his art) into a 'white' community, communicating the detachment and isolation associated with the transition.

One Night At Mount Lofty

Darren Siwes is an Aboriginal artist born in 1968, based in Adelaide, SA. Siwes began exhibiting work in 1996 and now has his work represented in many public locations such as the Art gallery's of South Art Gallery's of Western Australia and Queensland Art Gallery and was included in 'Half Light: Portraits from Black Australia' (2008) at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Siwes attended both the Adelaide school central school of art and the lions art centre and has been inspired by artists Tracy Moffatt, Gordon Bennett & Jeffery Smart. Now he's made his name as a photographer famous for his use of niche photography techniques (Cibachrome) and his signature nocturnal imagery coupled with

'ethereal' figures depicting himself or someone personally affiliated.

  • Date produced: 2001
  • size: 100 x 120cm
  • materials used: Cibachrome print

'One Night At Mount Lofty' is a Cibachrome print photograph produced in 2001 with an overall 'bright' theme in comparison to his other works. The contrast between light and dark is intended to create feelings unease and melancholy. The placement of the 'ethereal' figure suggests that Siwes seems to be questioning the position of the 'individual' in the urban world. The intentional selection of the urban landscape adds the notion of 'dislocation' in contrast to the transparent Aboriginal figure

Pre Sense

Trained Man

  • Date produced: 2003
  • size: 100 x 120cm
  • materials used: Cibachrome print

'Pre sense' is a Cibachrome print photograph produced in 2003 depicting a woman (Siwes' wife) poised in a dress appropriate to the colonisation period striking a dramatically wistful pose, the ethereal woman stands below an arch in the foreground of the photograph. There is historical significance in the building which resides in the United Kingdom and is associated with the era of Britain's colonisation. Dramatic lighting is used to evoke an emotional response, the silhouette is sharp and draws the audience's eye on the emphasised figure.

  • Date produced: 2001
  • size: 100 x 120cm
  • materials used: Cibachrome print

'Trained man' produced in 2001 is a Cibachrome print photograph which depicts a man (siwes) standing firmly in front of a small shed, the surrounding environment is dark and the singular man is transparent (a trademark of Siwes' photographs). The artist intended to create the environment in order to convey feelings of 'isolation' and 'confrontation' due to the figure's gaze. The garments of the figure suggests that they are 'misplaced' in their environment and suggest an underlying political message to the audience.

References

"Australian artists" -textbook (Darren Siwes p51-54)

http://www.douglasvincent.com/ilfochrome/

https://www.daao.org.au/bio/darren-siwes/

http://www.turnergalleries.com.au/artists/darren_siwes.php

http://www.australianphotographers.org/artists/darren-siwes

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