Author: John McRae

I am currently visiting the lovely state of Victoria, for my current exhibition called “Spot the Arab” (see further down, earlier blog entry) at Backspace Gallery, Ballarat.

My hosts thought I should experience diverse local culture on the weekend by visiting Daylesford, a small town north-east of Ballarat.  I did!  The following images are a collection of shots I took on Sunday morning, during the Chill Out Festival Parade down the main street of Daylesford. 

The Chill Out Festival takes place over the Labour Day long weekend. The festival attracts 25,000 visitors with an estimated economic benefit of around $10 million.  When the Springs Connection – a group of lesbian and gay business people in the regional town of Daylesford, Victoria – first got together to plan a local LGBTQI festival in 1997, they had no idea just how successful it would become. Celebrating its 21st birthday this year, it’s not only the largest annual celebration in Hepburn Shire, but also the biggest queer country pride event in Australia.

Every year I photograph Matthew Mitcham, Australia’s gold-medal Olympic diver, award-winning cabaret performer and television entertainer, in my studio.

Each portrait is taken under similar conditions.  In a sense these portraits are snapshots of the relationship between photographer and artist’s muse and they continue to track the development of this young man. 

MMXVII marks the 10th portrait and the 10th year of this ongoing series.  That’s a decade!

Hi,

I wish everyone a really successful and fun filled 2018.

Well I’ve made a few of those “New Year Resolutions”….one of them is to be more active on this blog and on social media.   I petered out somewhat towards the end of last year, but I am picking up the ball again and here’s to a more regular blog entry.

In fact, I am very positive about this year.  It’s going to be a good one….I feel it in my waters (don’t you hate that expression?).   I am looking forward to working again with my fantastic clients and to see what surprises are in store, what we can create together this year.  New clients I haven’t worked with yet….I look forward to meeting you.

Matt struts “the boards” again with his new show, “Under the Covers”.

These days, Matt has traded the diving board for another kind of “board”, the boards of the stage, as they say.  I had the pleasure of shooting some production shots at the dress rehearsal and performance of the latest addition to his cabaret repertoire.

Under the Covers has been created by the same team who devised Matthew’s previous multi-award-winning musical comedy, Twists & Turns, namely Matthew together with award-winning director Nigel Turner-Carroll and international cabaret sensation Spanky (aka Rhys Morgan), with accompaniment by Matthew Ogle.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself while shooting this brand new, sparkling, feel-good production.  Matt’s talent is seemingly limitless.  At times, it was difficult to keep focus on the job at hand. I found myself caught up in the jokes, the songs, the clever parody between the two main protagonists and the general infectious sense of fun.  

However…. I concentrated on getting the shots and decided to return another time to sit back and be entertained as one of the punters in the seats.

Here are some of the shots taken at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney in mid-September. If you want a good night out, check the performance schedule, and go to see Under the Covers. It will put a smile on your face.

Behind the scenes in the dressing room before the show……..

UNDER THE COVERS 

Written by Matthew Mitcham and Nigel Turner-Carroll

Director –  Nigel Turner-Carroll

Musical Director –  Andrew Bevis

Choreographer –  Holl Sheils

Lighting Designer –  Kym Halpin

Production Manager –  Lachlan Fletcher

Performed by –  Matthew Mitcham, Matthew Ogle, Rhys Morgan

After spending almost a month in Europe working on various projects, I flew into Sydney a few days ago.  I seem to be more jet-lagged than I can remember previously, waking up in the middle of the night with the feeling that there is some kind of grey veil over my brain.  In contrast, on the way over to Rome via Abu Dhabi, I experienced almost no jet lag and I was firing on all cylinders the very next day. They do say that jet lag is always worse in one of the directions….I can’t remember which one, but from this experience, I would have to say it’s going from East to West!

The time away was well spent.  In fact it was amazingly spent!

Firstly, my exhibition, “Spot The Arab”,  at Galleria Il Ponte Contemporanea in Rome (see previous “blog” entries further down this page) was extremely well-received.  I would like to thank Giuliano and Bruno, the two directors of the gallery, for their support and creativity in making the event such a resounding success. Who would have thought….an exhibition about prejudice and stigma, using the stereotypes of what an Arab looks like, staged in the Jewish Ghetto, in the home of the Catholic Church, staged by an Australian photographer. Anything is possible!

A big thank you to Jonathan Turner, my host in Rome. He is not only is an amazing curator and art critic (his input to my exhibition in terms of providing advice and various writings was critical to its success), but also the most generous and welcoming friend and host. He is also an accomplished cook and I was privileged to eat at one of the best tables in all of the Eternal City.

Next, I flew from Rome to Israel.  I was asked to stage a fashion shoot as a practical pre-text to get me to the Holy Land.  I shot for Refael, a stylish fashion boutique in one of the swanky parts of Tel Aviv. The shoot went very well and everyone was happy, including the designer, the model and the stylists.

The rest of the time I spent visiting parts of Tel Aviv (including a day splayed out on the wonderful beach that stretches the length of the city) and then Jerusalem and the Old City.  I have visited Jerusalem before…but I never tire of the magic of this city and always try to make a point of wandering its streets and market place.  A trip to Israel wouldn’t be complete without a meal along the sea-front at the old port of Jaffa, where the appetizers are brought out almost the instant you sit down, filling the table with all varieties of middle-eastern delights.  I am always completely entertained by the voracious efficiency of the waiting staff, darting backwards and forwards at lightening speed, clearing the dishes from an entire table of 6, plates and glasses stacked and piled in the air, in one go!  A big thank you to my host, Nitzan whose generosity abounds, as well as my dear friends Fabien  and Refael, who made my stay such a wonderful and enriching experience.

After pigging-out on 5 days of hummus, I flew back to Rome for some more Insalata Caprese which, by the way, I can never get enough of. It doesn’t get much better than fresh, delicious Italian tomatoes, fresh basil, the most superb mozzarella di bufala from Naples, drenched with virgin olive oil.  I think everyone, including Jonathan, was over my obsession with this dish by the end of my stay.

My exhibition is still running and I was asked to speak at a gallery visit organised by Giuliana Stella, an eminent art critic, curator and educator. This went very well. It was interesting for me to be able to interact with students from the Academy of Fine Arts and and members of the public, answer questions and hear thoughtful statements relating to my work.  A big thank you to Giuliana for organising this event.

Finally, the end of the trip was approaching.  I hurriedly made sure I had seen the most important things on my list.. .this included a visit to Naples and Pompeii….incredible!  A quick trip to London to catch up with old friends….thank you Fadi. 

And during the final week, the chance to meet up with more acquaintances from Italy, Scotland, Bosnia, Spain, Palestine, Canada and old friends who flew in from Malta and beyond. Thank you Marvic, Davide and Roderick.

Finally, a big thank you to all the people who welcomed me with such goodwill and openness during my travels and who contributed to the joys of the whole experience from start to finish.  You know who you are.  I also appreciate all my friends and clients here in Australia who I may have inconvenienced through my lack of presence over the past month.  Thanks for waiting and allowing me the time.  

I’m back and ready for the next chapter……

My bags are packed and I’m sitting on the sofa, waiting for the taxi to take me to Fumincino where I will board my return flight to Sydney via Abu Dhabi.

What a wonderful stay in the Eternal City! 

A huge thank you to all the people and friends that made this trip such a wonderful experience from start to finish.  I promise to pass on all the goodwill and love that was so freely shared with me, to the people I meet along my continuing travels.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit London.

I visited some of the iconic landmarks in  this grand lady’s cache….always impressed by the constant reminders of my Australian culture’s roots.  I always felt some of these elements were so out of place in the hot desert-like climate of my childhood (the carefully manicured botanical gardens devoid of native plants, for example), but seeing all this “English” in the climate, light and environment it evolved in suddenly made a lot more sense to me.

Sadly, the events on the Tower of London took place during my stay.  Long live London!

On May 30, John McRae presented his Spot The Arab exhibition to a group of art and architecture students from the Accademia delle Belle Arti di Roma. He gave a floor talk about his working methods and his subject matter to 50 students attending the courses of Allestimento Spazi Espositive (Exhibition Space Design) and Metodologia della Progettazione (Project Methodology), under the tutelage of Professor Giuliana Stella. Australian curator Jonathan Turner then gave a tour of the large-scale Blow-Up exhibition at Galleria Il Ponte Contemporanea, also in the company of Rome’s leading pulp fiction novelist Pier Francesco Grasselli (Ho Scaricato Miss Italia, and All’Inferno ci vado in Porsche).

I just spent four days in Tel Aviv, working on a photoshoot for the upcoming Refael Boutique, focused on creating a new portfolio of images capturing contemporary womens fashion, combining style and minimalism with a flamboyant edge. Together with rising star Refael and stylist Oded, and the young Israeli model, Hannah, we shot a sequence of studio interiors and street scenes under the midday sun.

REFAEL BOUTIQUE       Dizengoff 218, Tel Aviv