An exhibition of Photographic Works

A photographer, designer and visual art practitioner with a lifelong affinity with the world around her, Phaedra passed away on 2 July 2017.

“Photography is a wonderful medium for capturing the way I see the world, and of communicating that to other people...I hope that my images inspire people to look closer at the world around them and to note that there is beauty in the most unexpected places.” Phaedra

Carefully creating compositional scenes that are both familiar and surprising, Phaedra offers us open yet intimate spaces where time is slowed. Her images are intriguing sites and scaffolds where we can build narrative and mood through the process of looking. There is often a sense of something just outside the frame; a deeper space, an implied human presence or absence enriched by the viewer’s interpretation.

Without traditional subject, Phaedra’s images disrupt conventions and expectations. Her works are defined by meticulous composition and the interplay of geometric shapes. Compelling images reconcile compositional concerns of colour, form, space and light with the human experience of being in and seeing the world. Using a broad vocabulary of non- representational colour-scapes, human structures and artefacts, interior, exterior, and the natural world Phaedra presents us with images that, above all else, are beautiful and timeless.

See: Phaedra Photography is a celebration of Phaedra’s life and the act of seeing. This exhibition comprises select works, largely curated by Phaedra during her lifetime. Three series of works will be exhibited over the duration of See: Phaedra Photography. While some works will remain constant across Series 1, 2 and 3, exhibited work will vary. Cataloguing of Phaedra’s prolific photography is a work in progress. Future exhibitions will encompass Phaedra’s comprehensive body of work.

Curated by Christian Leah and Peta Thurling

Biography

Phaedra Leah was born in 1967, England and grew up in South East Queensland and Northern NSW. Phaedra resided in Goulburn from 2007–2017, maintaining strong connections to Manly and the NSW North Coast. Phaedra travelled widely during her lifetime, studying fine arts and design at Sydney TAFE, the University of Technology and the prestigious Central Saint Martins, London. Past exhibitions include Themes at The Goulburn Club, Goulburn, 2015; the Goulburn Regional Art Award, Goulburn, 2012; Habit at (Manly Arts Festival) at the Barking Frog Cafe, Manly, 1999; The Cafe Collection (Manly Arts Festival) at Interpolitan Cafe, Manly, 1998; Antipodes at Seahorse Gallery, Manly, 1998 and Sightings (Manly Arts Festival) at Interpolitan Cafe, Manly, 1997. Phaedra’s works are held in various private collections.

Exhibited works not for sale. Phaedra is represented by Christian Leah. Email contact@phaedra.photography. Web see.phaedra.photography