We received a little bit of press, when Hijacked was launched in conjunction with the Foto Freo Festival 2008. Here is an extract, Stephen Bevis of the West Australian Newspaper writes: "The perspectives of an emerging generation have been bought into focus with Hijacked, a new exhibition and book to be launched at Fotofreo tonight. Scouring the internet and following the word-of-mouth buzz, Perth based artist and curator Mark McPherson has looked beyond what he calls 'the usual suspects' in the photographic world to bring together the most diverse and provocative image-makers from around Australia and the US.
Blurring the lines between artists, amateurs and professional photographers, Hijacked embraces the Youtube generation's wanderlust, fascination with international subcultures, fragmented trends, alternate lifestyles and suburbia, says McPherson.
'It is the same effect that digital photography has had on the art form,' he says. It has made it a more democratic playing field in a way. Some people don't like what digital photography has done to the artform, but I see the same names pop up so we are trying to give exposure to new talent'.
The official Hijacked opening was only two weeks ago, so it's history. The exhibition runs for another two weeks, but already we are planning the hang, layout, doing all the printing for our major exhibition and book launch at The Australian Centre for Photography, in Sydney, June 12 - July 19, 2008.
Fremantle was a huge learning curve, but also a great platform for Hijacked. A lot of work went into this labour of love. The Fremantle exhibition was very grass roots and relied on a lot of volunteers. So I say thank you everyone for your time, work and patience. Hope you all enjoyed it. I had taken a week off my day job specifically to install the photographs and organise all the work, which was time consuming and frustrating - don't hang in heritage buildings, don't use magnets. Thankfully the ACP show is going to handled totally by the ACP staff. We just need to send the exhibition design, instructions, curatorial rationale and plans. Now we are all professionals, it should be 'a walk in the park'.
Anyway, This is a short photo journal of the Official opening and some photos I shot today so everyone has a feel and sense of the first Hijacked Volume 1 - Australia and America launch in Fremantle, Western Australia. What the Old Customs building looks like and the type of architecture, design in the exhibition layout. You can see in the photographs that the space in an unconventional exhibition space. The audience is invited to walk through the corridors of the Old Customs House to view the artworks. On the opening night we converted the offices of Artsource into the bar area and hung selected works in the Artsource Office. So visitors could complete a cypher, a complete walk through rectangular circuit. As space was limited we could only exhibit selected works from Hijacked Volume 1 - Australia and America. But the ACP show will require exhibition prints from almost the entire book, as we have unprecedentedly been given the entire ACP space, over 120m running - linear metres of hanging space throughout 4 gallery spaces. It's going to be Mammoth, the bomb baby!
The photos were kindly taken by Wayne Richards and Mindaugas Kavaliauskas who runs a Photography Festival in Lithuania.
2008 © Mindaugas KAVALIAUSKAS / LIGHT.LT studio --- Kaunas Photo Festival, Director
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Your Family & Mine
April 18 - May 4, 2008, DADAA’s - Freight Gallery, Fremantle, Western Australia
Your Family and Mine takes a closer look at the often private landscape of the family; the people we live with, the places we live in and the people we come from. Moving through closed doors, household interiors open up giving an intimate preview of how and who we live with. Families are blood, relatives, friends, pets, networks, peers and are often as marked by their absence and passing as their ongoing presence.
Your Family and Mine examines the everyday lives of people and plays with perceived
notions of normality and dysfunction in families.
Curated by: Mark McPherson
Photographers: Wayne Richards, Terry Mathews, Kay Merrin, Clayton Martin, Judy Mary Seward, Nicky Vervest, Pauline Miles, Yvette Bonhoffer, Mary Urquhart, Mark McPherson
Exhibition Opening Friday 18th April, 2008, 6.30pm
DADAA’s Freight Gallery: 21 Beach Street, (Opposite East Street Jetty) Fremantle, Western Australia
Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 10am - 4pm, Saturday - Sunday 11am - 4pm
Exhibition runs until Sunday May 4, For details contact: +61 8 9430 6616
VIP Preview and Viewings by Appointment: April 7 - April 18, 2008.
Cover Photo: Terry Mathews, Paula and Steven 2007. Courtesy of the Artist
Hijacked Volume One, Australia and America
Editors: Mark McPherson and Max Pam
Design: Tom Muller
Contributors: Robert Cook, Michael Farrell, Max Pam, Jess Scully and Ed Zipco
Language: English
Release: April 2008
Price: Aus $100
Format: 26 x 20 cm
Binding: 288 pages, full colour, hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-988-99591-3-5
Hijacked brings together, for the first time, an uncompromising movement of international cultural exchange. Presenting the most diverse and provocative new photography from Australia and America, the book erases traditional boundaries between artists, professionals and emerging talent in order to point towards the future of contemporary photography.
Shunning repetitive and predictable structures, Hijacked's aesthetic is directed by the mindset and energy of young and emerging practitioners. Embracing the prevailing wanderlust, their work exhibits a fascination with international subcultures, fragmented trends, alternate life styles and urban landscapes. Explorations of suburban pleasures are placed on par with 'high' artistic experimentation.
While assembling the visions of its contributors, Hijacked delves into the practical and conceptual issues of the world of contemporary photography. Interviews provide a social comment on the socio-scape of Australia and America, and highlights talking points from discussions with artists on communication, social awareness, capitalism and the impact of commerce on identity and artistic practice.
Relentless in its ambition, much like the photographers, writers and contemporaries it publishes, Hijacked, the photography book, is a survey and hybrid of real time photography and life in real time.
Australian photographers
Greta Anderson
Duncan Barnes
Karron Bridges
Sean Cordeiro and Claire Healy
Michael Gray
David Griggs
Caitlin Harrison
Nathalie Latham
Mark McPherson
James Mellon
Graham Miller
Martin Mischkulnig
Fiona Morris
Tony Nathan
Jack Pam
Emily Portmann
Brad Rimmer
Janelle Ryan
Flavia Schuster
Juha Tolonen
Joshua Webb
Toni Wilkinson
Gareth Willis
American photographers
Timothy Archibald
Angela Boatwright
Alana Celii
Nick Chatfield-Taylor
Brian Cross
Todd Fisher
Jonathan Gitelson
Dean Karr
Lisa Kereszi
Jason Lazarus
Suzy Poling
Robin Schwartz
Tod Seelie
Sarah Small
Amy Stein
Jennifer Juniper Stratford
Bill Sullivan
Shen Wei
Grant Willing
Ed Zipco
The first Big City Press publication Hijacked is out now, this is the advert that featured in the Australian photography magazine, Photofile 83 - The Erotic Imagination. The advert was designed by my friend Tom Muller and the photograph was taken by Lisa Kereszi from America. It lists all the stockists in Australia,that have the book available, but the rest of the world will just have to wait. We are distributed in Australia by Books @ Manic.
Big City Press is proud to announce the release of its first publication: Hijacked Volume 1 - Australia and America. The contemporary photography book was officially launched by Dr. Christopher Crouch on April 5th at the 2008 City of Fremantle Photography Festival (aka. FotoFreo) The book launch, accompanied by an exhibition of selected works from Hijacked, runs until May 4th at Artsource, Old Customs House, 8 Phillamore Street, Fremantle, Western Australia. 100 advanced copies of Hijacked Volume 1 - Australia and America have since sold out. The exhibition opening was a blast. A great relief for a project that has essentially been developing for over 2 years. Thanks to everyone who supported me to get this project off the ground. You know who you are. Much Love. Mcp x.
