This innovative exhibition focuses on recent work by five established Australian artists, each with a strong international profile. Each artist uses the medium of photography as an elementary part of their work, but each incorporates different methods, techniques and symbols. They are linked by their ability to infuse photography with a clear spiritual quality. Each artist will be represented by a new series of defining works, exclusive to Melbourne.

Maree Azzopardi (born 1966, Sydney) - Misty landscapes from Azzopardi's After the Storm and Morning Tree-Mourning Tree series are seen through frosted glass, foggy car windows, or the mesh of fly-screen, as if tto provide an ephemeral distance from the natural world outside. In cool greens, blues and greys, Azzopardi depicts trees and country roads as spiritual landscapes, a representation of the half-world frozen in half-light. Azzopardi has long been working with the explosive themes of religion, sexuality and various aspects of Maltese tradition, and she often introduces 23-carat gold-leaf, charcoal, partially hidden texts and crumpled collage in her mixed-media photographs. www.mareeazzopardi.com

Paul Ferman (born 1948, Hamburg) - Taking a philosophical approach to photography, much of Ferman's work might at first appear to be abstract, but it is directly inspired by sources as diverse as the lament in Shakespeare's King Lear, the study of botany, neon-lights in down-town Tokyo and the ugliness of today's Celebrity Culture. In his studio, Ferman enlarges, superimposes and distorts his imagery, to create dramatic new compositions and mesmerising colour fields. Intrigued by surface texture and the randomness of chance, Ferman's large-scale prints flash and sear the eye, or alternativvely, lull the viewer into a false sense of security. www.paulferman.com

Renato Grome (born 1954, Rome) - Focusing on the many facets of personal identity, Grome frequently works from the perspective of an outsider looking in. "I look at the world surrounding me with an out-of-body-vision, as though my eyes are outside their sockets, outside of my head, with a 360º vision.”  Known for his flower photographs produced through the technique of analogue reversal, to create colour-saturated images which are iconic, seductive, yet darkly disquieting, Grome's experimental landscapes from China, Italy, France and the USA involve the construction of custom-made rigs, consisting of a lens he has invented specifically for this series. The man-made world is fractured into prisms or distorted by the curves of a crystal globe, with subtle nods to Cubism, Surrealism, Futurism and humour.  www.renatogrome.com

John McRae (born 1960, Horsham, VIC) - In his exploration of the dualistic concept of mascunity/feminiinity, McRae's portraits sometimes poke fun at our fashion-obsessed universe. He treats his subjects with dignity, yet there is always an underlying sense of sly emotion and deep intimacy. His ongoing  series of larger-than-life images of Matt Mitcham, the gold-medal Olympic diver, trace the development from an uncertain youngster to a media-savvy man of confidence, an icon of inner strength. McRae's sharply-focused vision also include portraits of singers, film-makers, top models, drag queens, sailors and his recent portraits of the late Margaret Olley. www.johnmcrae.com

William Yang (born 1943, Mareeba, QLD) - Known for his intense theatre performances and unabashed photography, Yang inhabits a unique position in Australian culture. He is a contemporary master of narrative, writing explanatory scripts and emotional impressions over the surfaces of his black-and-white photographs. Elements of a face, disjointed body-parts, details of underworld sub-cultures and empty outback scenery are captured with the same eagle eye. Over the decades, Yang has documented his own Chinese family history, the emergence of the Australian gay scene and the changes in social mores. His Hands series is superbly symbolic, including images of unspoken dialogue as suggested by the expressive hands of matriarchs, friends, handsome youths and even the Dalai Lama. www.williamyang.com

Director's statement: This group show assembles diversity, innovation and excellence by five photo-based artists. It reflects the unique exhibition policy of Ausin Tung Gallery, highlighting the best art being produced in Asia and the Pacific Rim. This show reveals how these Australian mid-career artists, each from a different mixed heritage, re-interpret the medium of photography. Together, their themes, subject matter and stylistic approach offer a broad panorama of the changing art of photography. Over the years, Azzopardi, Ferman, Grome, McRae and Yang have all exhibited frequently in galleries and museums in Australia, Asia, Europe and beyond, including participation in several solo and group shows organised by the award-winning, Rome-based Australian curator, Jonathan Turner, who has also conceived this exhibition for Ausin Tang Gallery

Exhibition Dates: Wednesday 14/03/12 - Saturday 21/04/12
Opening: Wednesday 14th March 2012, 6-8pm

Downloads