Shutter Box Philippines :: Digital Photography and A Whole Lot More

                                    Calubcub Town Square at Night (2007) by Henry Bateman

In March, Australian artist/photographer Henry Bateman will hold his first Philippine exhibition at Makati City’s One Workshop Gallery, entitled “Through Australian Eyes”.

An expatriate Australian, Bateman has been living in the Philippines for 3 years and comes with an extensive track record of overseas exhibitions in both Australia and the US. The most recent being September last year at the Australian National University’s Photospace Gallery in Australia’s national capital, Canberra.

“Through Australian Eyes” documents Bateman’s impressions of living in the Philippines. His abstract and semi abstract photographs concentrate on three aspects of Filipino life, “da province, religion and shopping.   

“These aspects of Filipino life stand in stark contrast to an Australian lifestyle,” Bateman said. “With my photographs I have tried to capture not only the physical differences but also the cultural confrontation experienced when Australian sensibilities meet the Filipino lifestyle,” he added.

“Through Australian Eyes” is an exhibition of colour photographs which the artist claims to be integral to his work. “For me the Philippines isn’t a black and white country,” Bateman said. “There aren’t enough shades of grey to depict all the complexities, you’ve just got to use colour,” he added.

Using line and form as well as colour Bateman manipulates his digitally captured photographs on his computer to delve below the composition of the recorded moment. From each of his photographs he builds a new image that explores the underlying motivation that caused the shutter to be pressed when it was. “It is a journey in which the image dictates what directions to take,” Bateman said. “My major contribution is knowing when a destination has been reached,” he added. 

Australian art critic, Judith McGrath, has said about his work “Bateman has a keen eye for collecting aspects of everyday life, and a keen sense of design for digitally manipulating his pictures. He creates visual images that engage the viewer, and that’s what Art is all about.” 

“Through Australian Eyes” opens on the 4^th of March at Ross Capili’s One Workshop Gallery, La Fuerza Plaza II, 2241 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City and runs through to the 4^th of April.

For more information contact the following:

One Workshop Gallery
Ross Capili
Tel: 810 5094
Email: rosscapili@yahoo.com

Exhibiting Artist
Henry Bateman
Tel: 757 3916
Email: henry@pissedpoetpics.com

This entry was posted on Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 8:13 am and is filed under Events, Photo Exhibits, Photographer in Spotlight, Photographers in the News, Photography Services, Product Launching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.