Words and images by Catherine Cranston
Confluence is a flowing together of two or more streams. Three streams of students from photography, ceramics, and art and cultural administration have come together for an exhibition at The Muse, within the TAFE Ultimo campus.
For the graduating Diploma of Photography students their exhibition, Confluence, is the culmination of 12 months of immersing themselves in their craft.
The group is a diverse one. One student, Tamara Joksimovic, only picked up a camera two years ago; others have been in the photography industry a lot longer. But all came away with not only advanced photography knowledge but people and business skills.
Head teacher of Photography at Ultimo, Dario Gardiman, who has been a TAFE educator for 13 years, said: “This is probably the first group that I’ve seen so many different tangents of work and different characters in a particular group who have all produced incredibly unique bodies of work.”
Although Jose Moreno’s passion is music photography, studying at TAFE and having access to studios and state-of-the art photography equipment has really pushed him to become a better, more well-rounded photographer.
Moreno’s exhibition work features flamenco dancers that link to his Spanish heritage.
“It was about how flamenco can be, not necessarily masculine and feminine,” he said.
“So there’s a slight queer component to it. But you know, it’s about passion. It’s about love. It’s about that colour, and not so much colour, and dance.“
For Gery Tye, studying photography was initially about a challenge with his wife.
“She wanted to do something new, so she said if you do something, I’ll do something,“ said Tye.
“And she wanted to do floristry, so she went and did floristry and I did photography.
“So we had education date day. We come in on the train together and we’d be like 50 metres away from each other. And then we go home.
“So she’s now a qualified florist and working in the industry and I’ve almost finished my diploma in photography.”
Lilly Siemon, who had her first taste of photography in high school covering school events and sports days for their photography club, took inspiration from Irving Penn and focused her exhibition work on flowers to create Flora Obscura. Lilly’s exhibition work is comprised of high-contrast black-and-white images of flowers.
“I want to focus more on the textures and the patterns and the little things that you might not notice about flowers if you’re just looking at them, at the colour,” said Siemon.
Throughout the exhibition, the student work focuses on a wide variety of photography styles. From fashion and commercial photography to fine art, documentary and social commentary – such as Tom Sanderson’s work on the cost-of-living crisis.
The support and knowledge of the teachers was a big factor in their enjoyment of their education. As Tye said: “I think the relationship’s probably the most rewarding part of the course. The teachers here are amazingly excellent. I think we’re extremely lucky to have them.“
For those looking for a career in photography, nothing compares to learning in a face-to-face environment surrounded by other creatives.
Gardiman said: “One of the things that is really good about TAFE as an institution is the teachers that come to teach you have a lot of industry experience, and they’re coming from a place where they’re looking at what you’re doing and how they can influence what you’re doing to get to that destination for you as well.”
The Photography X Ceramics exhibition is open at The Muse, Harris St Ultimo, from 10am-4pm until Monday November 24th (closed Sunday).
Featured image: Jose Moreno’s work features a flamenco link to his Spanish heritage. Photo: Catherine Cranston
