PA/03/19 17 January 2019
Australian High Commissioner inaugurates photographic exhibition in Ahmedabad
Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Her Excellency Ms Harinder Sidhu, inaugurated a Monash Gallery of Art (MGA) travelling exhibition - John Gollings: the History of the Built World - in Ahmedabad today.
The History of the Built World is the first major survey exhibition of one of Australia’s most celebrated architectural photographers, John Gollings’ photographic practice spanning over 50 years.
Ms Sidhu said, “It gives me great joy to open this incredible exhibition, which traverses ancient and contemporary architecture, in the vibrant city of Ahmedabad today. John Gollings, well-known for his distinctive visual style, has been drawn to India throughout his career and it reflects in some of his works presented as part of the exhibition. ”
While John is well-known for his documentation of contemporary buildings and cityscapes, this survey exhibition includes images of iconic modernist buildings, ancient sites of spiritual significance and the ruins of abandoned cities.
Various Indian architectural marvels - the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, Hanuman Temple in Hampi, The Taj Mahal in Agra, Vittala Temple in Hampi and others – also feature in the exhibition alongside many of John’s photographs from world over.
“The most exciting thing I can do in life is to look at a building and decide on the one definitive angle to photograph it from,” said John Gollings, who in his long association with India, has extensively documented World Heritage sites including Hampi and is now working on a project on stepwells in India.
“I’m particularly thrilled for this exhibition to be shown in India. Photographing Hampi’s ancient buildings was the foundation to understanding modern buildings,” he added.
From sacred rock art sites and ancient temples, to suburban dream homes, iconic monuments and architectural interventions, Gollings’ catalogue of images provides a remarkable visual history of how humans have chosen to inhabit their world.
Presented in partnership with the Monash Gallery of Art, the exhibition will be open for public viewing at the CEPT Exhibition Centre, Lilavati Lalbhai Library, CEPT University, from 18 January to 13 February 2019. The exhibition will then travel to New Delhi, for display at the India Habitat Centre as part of Photosphere from 19 February to 18 March 2019.
About John Gollings
One of Australia’s pre-eminent architectural photographers, John Gollings for the past 50 years has been synthesising his joint interests in photography and architecture to explore the cultural construction of social spaces. John Gollings made his first photographs and received darkroom tuition at age 11. He later studied architecture at the University of Melbourne and completed a Masters in Architecture at RMIT.
About Australia Fest:
On 18 September 2018 Australia’s High Commissioner to India Her Excellency Ms Harinder Sidhu, launched Australia Fest, a six month long celebration of Australian culture and creativity. Australia Fest has been made possible with the generous support of our partners in three major categories: Platinum: State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales; Gold: Deakin University; Silver: ANZ Banking Group, Ashok & Mariam Jacob, CQ University Australia, FCM Travel Solutions, Mahindra, Northern Territory Government, Tata BlueScope Steel, Telstra, Tourism Australia and Woodside Energy. Australia Fest’s hotel partner is the Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), airline partner is Singapore Airlines, wine partner is Jacob’s Creek, and promotion partner is BookMyShow.
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