“There is another world, but it is in this one,” said Surrealist poet Paul Éluard. In this exhibition, artists look to the future, imagining how we move forward from the tumultuous events of the past year. [read more]
Art in the Plague Year is an online exhibition organized by UCR ARTS: California Museum of Photography and curated by Douglas McCulloh, Nikolay Maslov, and Rita Sobreiro Souther. UCR ARTS’s programs are supported by UCR College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, the City of Riverside, Altura Credit Union, and Anheuser-Busch.
All works in this exhibition are reproduced with permission of the artists/copyright holders. Works (images, video, audio or other content) must not be used or reproduced for any purposes other than fair use without prior consent of the artists.
(b. 1983, Armidale, NSW, Australia. Lives and works in Melbourne, Australia)
Photographs from Friends on Film
When extreme coronavirus restrictions eased in Melbourne, photographer Lilli Waters began documenting friends and family. The series, she says, “arose from isolation, the need for human connection and sharing of our own individual experiences of this strange time.” The goal became less an image than a connection, not really a portrait session but a “bonding ritual.” So, Waters set rules: slow the pace, use film, shoot medium format, make just twenty photographs per session. “Every shot is carefully considered, far removed from working in the digital realm where an ability to shoot endless images removes the risk but also the magic. The analog camera lens for me is a portal into a different way of seeing, a re-evaluation of how I feel about photography, which is ultimately just a way to connect with other humans.”
