The dark side

01 Dec 2016

A current exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery is the first major review of Wellington photographer Ann Shelton's 20 years of work. Ann Shelton: Dark Matter uncovers the dark matter or unknown substance in Ann Shelton’s art in which time, place, narrative, trauma and female authorship unfold in shifting and destabilising ways.

Shelton engages with a range of interconnected subjects in her work, which also investigates how photography is a powerful force for the creation of meaning in our lives. The exhibition presents a significant selection of past bodies of work, including previously unseen photographs from the 1990s, and a new series.

Also featured are Shelton’s early series which brought her to attention as a photographer, and recorded the artist’s social scene in Auckland in the early 1990s, as well as works that show her transition from documenting others to documenting place.

The works are hung on gallery walls painted in various colours from the Karen Walker Paints collection from Resene. Shown is The Courtesan, Poroporo (Solanum sp.) 2016. 

Published: 01 Dec 2016