Exhibitions

A major new series of work by Australian photographer Danica Chappell titled Far From the Eye is being presented across the spaces of La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo. Chappell presents captivating and innovative artworks, informed by a collaborative dialogue with chemical biologist Dr Donna Whelan from La Trobe University’s Institute of Molecular Science.
 
Chappell describes her work as a collision of light, shadow, form, colour and actions into ‘apparitions of delectation’. Her work responds to the very nature of the papers, chemicals and processes of photographic production, blending traditional methods dating back to the earliest days of the medium with the most contemporary methods incorporating innovative technologies and materials.
 
Danica Chappell works on the traditional lands of the Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri peoples in Naarm (Melbourne). Through a darkroom practice, she explores abstraction and addresses the history of photography. Her work is based on shadows activated by the photogram – a process not requiring a camera – taking advantage of the flexibility of photographic processes. Light and shadow, form and colour collide, like apparitions responding to material in the act of becoming fixed into image.

Image :Danica Chappell Glimmer (Picturing objects #3) 2018–21 and Glimmer (Latent doubt #5) 2020–21, daguerreotype, custom palladium hand-gilded frame with glass. Photo: Ian Hill