Three (New) Images Selected in Percival Portrait Prize …

Chuffed that three of my portraits are getting their FIRST award recognition after being selected yesterday (Friday) as Finalists in the bi-annual Percival Portrait Prize. They will be exhibited on the gracious walls of the historic Perc Tucker Gallery in Townsville.

The award runs in conjunction with the Percival Painting Portrait Prize and attracts entries from around Australia and Internationally.

Nice to see these three more recent images selected … ‘Covid Vax & Ice Cream’ (top – Leanne at Yarrabah after her Covid vaccination),  ‘Mother Africa’ (centre – African American Aurora Coulter) and ‘Graham Elms – Legendary Larrikin’ (bottom) … all made in far north Queensland in the last few months.

‘Covid Vax & Ice Cream’ was made for a The Australian story on the door to door vaccination program in the indigenous community of Yarrabah. ‘Mother Africa’ … of Colorado USA raised African American Aurora Coulter …  was made to depict the historic plight of black Americans, an issue very close to Aurora’s heart. ‘Graham Elms – Legendary Larrikin’ was made for a Sunday Mail series on … well … ‘Larrikins’. Graham is your archetypal far north Queensland bad boy of old.

It’s now three ‘Percival’s’ in a row that I have had work selected to be exhibited … three works in 2018 hereand two in 2016 here

The winners of this years Percival Photographic Portrait Prize will be selected and announced at the exhibition opening at Perc Tucker Gallery in Townsville on the 23rd April and will show till July 3rd.

Images © Brian Cassey

 

Three … Percival Photographic Portrait Prize

Really pleased to have three portraits selected, physically printed, framed and hung on the walls of the Perc Tucker Gallery in Townsville … finalists in the biennial ‘2020 Percival Photographic Portrait Prize’ … but … strangely no one is allowed to see them there !

Due to the Covid-19 virus the gallery is still firmly closed. The gallery is hoping that they will be able to open after Queensland’s Stage 2 round of restriction lifting on the 12th June, but that is far from certain. The exhibition runs until 19th July.

In the meantime will have to make do with a ‘virtual tour’ of the work as hung in the cavernous Perc Tucker Gallery. The photographic portraits are mixed on the walls with the generally larger works of the portrait painting prize … so finding specific works is ‘virtually’ problematic. Not a fan of the mixture of painting works and photographic images sharing the walls that’s for sure. Many … if not most … of the photographic works are dwarfed by massive (sometimes gaudy) paintings … but it is nice knowing they are ‘there’.

To save you searching ‘virtually’ … here are my three works that made the cut … ‘Generations – Aurukun’, (bottom) ‘Tomotaro on the Block’ (centre) … and great to see it getting it’s first recognition … ‘Kate … Waiting For Her New Breasts’ (top). (Massive Thanks again Kate !) Both ‘Generations … ‘ and ‘Tomotaro … ‘ have received a lot of recognition previously … just check back through my blog or go to my ‘Awards’ page here.

If you are up for the challenge and would like to attempt see the works that make up the combined Percival exhibitions try here … https://www.townsville.qld.gov.au/facilities-and-recreation/theatres-and-galleries/perc-tucker-regional-gallery/percival-portrait-painting-prize#top … best of luck.

Images © Brian Cassey

'Kate - Waiting For Her New Breasts' - Finalist - Percival Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 - image by Brian Cassey'Tomotaro on the Block' - Finalist - Percival Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 - image by Brian Cassey'Generations - Aurukun' - Finalist - Percival Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 - image by Brian Cassey

PNG To Percival Prize …

Pleased that I made it back from an incredible Papua New Guinea gig on Friday morning … just in time to jump on a flight to Townsville for the opening eve ‘bash’ of the 2018 Percival Photographic Portrait Prize.

The ‘Percival’s’ are relatively new … a biennial prize now into it’s third edition. Despite it’s relative youth it has quickly grown into a worthwhile quality event attracting work from some of the best photographic portrait artists from around the country. A ten grand first prize has ensured that. It is run by the Townsville City Council and the exhibition of finalists work graces the clean crisp confines of the Pinnacles Gallery in Thuringowa.

Great to have two works on the walls of the finalist’s exhibition … as also did friends and photographer colleagues Jon Lewis, Peter Solness and Felicity Cole … whilst Rod McNicol and Glen O’Malley scored one apiece. Although there are one or two questionable works in the large expertly lit exhibition the overall standard of the majority is impressive, rivalling many other more notable prizes across the land. The City of Townsville Council also produces what has to be one of the best and most professional printed exhibition catalogues I have seen.

I havn’t previously mentioned my works that have been selected …  but can reveal that they are … “The Skin I’m In – II” of Carol Mayer (the same image that has graced the National Portrait Gallery and several other exhibition walls) … and “Mowisha from Jumbun” made in the indigenous township near Tully. Nothing new here I’m afraid …

The winner of the, not insubstantial, cash was Sydney’s Kellie Leczinska with her work “Mbathio, Marrickville”. The job of judging fell to Cherie McNair, Director and CEO, Australian Centre for Photography and Judy Annear, former Curator of Photography at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Townsville Council should heartily and genuinely be congratulated for hosting this award and exhibition and for their support of the photographic arts. Would be wonderful to see Cairns do something similar …

The exhibition runs at the Pinnacles Gallery, 20 Village Boulevard, Thuringowa Central, Townsville, 10am to 5pm till the 15th July.

Below are images of my works on the gallery walls. (© Brian Cassey)

 

2018 Percival Photographic Portrait Prize - "Mowisha from Jumbun" - by Brian Cassey

2018 Percival Photographic Portrait Prize - "The Skin I'm In - II" - by Brian Cassey

 

 

Digging Up a Croc …

Recently received a call from the Museum of Tropical Queensland Townsville asking if they could purchase some of my crocodile images (from ‘Animal Portraits’ on my web site) to promote their massive new exhibition ‘Croc Country’.

No problem … except that their favourite pic, that they had selected as the ‘signature’ image for all their signage, invitations and promotions, was well … old … dating back way before the advent of digital photography in the work flow.

A desperate search of my (not so well organised) film archive eventually turned up the original pic which was shot on transparency stock way, way back. Luckily it was in surprisingly good nick.

Have now seen the proofs of the promotional and exhibition material from the Museum of Tropical Queensland and the old photo is now earning it’s keep and seeing the light of day once more (see below).

‘Croc Country’ runs from the 15th November till the 1st of March 2015 at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Flinders Street, Townsville.

image © Brian Cassey (sometime last century)

Croc CountryBlog

 

Two Days With Nikon …

Thanks to Steve Merrin and Andrew King of Nikon Australia I spent a great two days last week in that other northern Queensland city of Townsville.

At Nikons invitation I gave a ‘lecture’ to Townsville’s pro photographers on photojournalism and surviving therein over the decades and in todays media climate … joined the Nikon crew in an extreme low light workshop which highlighted the performance of Nikons FX large sensor cameras including the D4s and the brand new Nikon D810 … and joined the sales crew at Garricks Camera House for a special Nikon promotion and sale day. it was Nikon’s first … and hopefully not the last … event in the far north of Queensland.

A full on and enjoyable couple of entertaining days …

The numbers in attendance at my little chat (which ran well over the time optimistically allotted by Steve at 90 minutes) surprised me … and according to the feedback … was well received by the audience of ‘pros’  – portrait, wedding, commercial and the odd PJ. Accompanying my natter was a visual show of over a hundred of my images from across the decades … and a few pieces of past photographic kit.

Below are just two of the hundred odd images from last Fridays Townsville presentation. The first is an emotion charged image from that most competitive game of lawn bowls which I made in the 80’s … and secondly an image I made in the far west of Queensland in the dysfunctional indigenous community of Urandangi in 2008.

Images © Brian Cassey

Australia - Cairns - 1987

NikonEventBlog3