Another Damn Project.
Reflections on Port Elliot: Art, Mentors, and Longkuwar/The Bluff.
I am holidaying at Port Elliot, where I’ve been visiting and holidaying my whole life. It’s a bit of a summer retreat for Adelaide people, and two of my artistic mentors also holidayed here. Ruth Tuck and Mervyn Smith were both watercolourists who influenced me greatly. Ruth was instrumental in my becoming an artist; her confidence in me was pivotal, but I did not realise until much later just how important she was.
She and Mervyn would stay with their young family in a place not far from where we are now and the view of the Bluff is one that both of them painted often.
The Bluff/Longkuwar/Rosetta Head is a landmark around here. I first attempted paintings of it in my 20s and from where we are staying it can be seen across Encounter Bay – always present in the distance. I say always present rather than always visible, because one of the lovely things that happens is when weather comes in across the bay the Bluff appears and then vanishes, drifting in and out with the weather.
The place that Margot and I have rented for a couple of weeks has its front wall entirely of glass; part of a window and with a small balcony off to the side.
The first morning we woke here the weather was coming in towards us across the bay. I could see patches of rain approaching and there were good clouds. I had the idea of making a series of photographs that recorded changing views of the bluff as this day evolved. Which I did. And then satisfied, I sat down on our second morning, culled and edited until I had ten images that I believed would make a series.
I thought of how my series might be presented - a small square-format photo book, a photo essay, a portfolio, or even as the subject of a written piece such as this. And that’s where I had to pause and wonder what I was doing.
I realised that I always tend to see work in terms of its possibilities, in terms of its intent, in terms of how the finished work might sit together or how it fits into what else I’m making. In other words there’s a lot going on when I’m doing this. And then I thought - is this is a good thing or a bad thing? When I look at other people’s photographs, I tend to quickly analyse, categorise and critique them. When I look at photos in Instagram or Facebook feeds, when I wander through exhibitions - I’m always analysing and seeking meaning. I tend to be dismissive of work that is not carefully thought out or made with intent. I’m not saying I’m sorry to do this, I’m just - I suppose - having a moment of awareness. I guess that this is what I do. When I started this series I thought I would keep it going for the whole time of our holiday. The awareness though, has made me wonder if it might not be better to just stop doing this for a moment, reflect, and perhaps do nothing instead.
Pondering the meaning of meaning...