A photographic eye for our times

By LINDA HERRICK, arts editor

A certain arts benefactor recently noted, upon receiving the keys to Auckland City, that if she were to offer advice to anyone starting out collecting art today, she would say: look to photography.

Yet galleries in Auckland are slow to heed the trend. Photography exhibitions are rare, and dealers who do handle the genre tend towards the conservative, sticking to the same cycle of established senior names.

The Paul McNamara Gallery in Wanganui is one of the few dealer galleries in the country to accept younger photography talent, and to embrace the inexorable rise of digital technology.

If you need proof, see for yourself in a selection of startlingly fresh images of a festival at Otara taken by Wayne Wilson, a photographer the Herald arts pages have supported over the past couple of years - simply because we think his work deserves appreciation.

Paul McNamara, too, is a backer, saying Wilson's work may look deceptively straightforward but goes far beyond the superficial, capturing the context of the times and raising questions about our society. He has shown Wilson's work, and has another show scheduled. Meanwhile, Wilson keeps persisting.

He has a show at the Otara Net Gallery of 40 digi-camera images he took during the Festival of Kolours at the Otara markets late last year.

The photos nail the energy of the performers, ranging in age, experience and style. They include a rare study of stillness in rap artist Scribe and a whirling dervish of a girl band called Urban Beats.

"I'm trying to represent the enjoyment and sheer raw talent from the backyards of our country," says Wilson. "I also want to represent the Otara neighbourhood as a creative community that lives and operates well beyond its popular negative reputation."

Exhibition

* What: Raw Talent, by Wayne Wilson

* Where and when: Net Gallery, Otara Shopping Centre, opens tonight 5.30pm. Until April 30