We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
Anne Ferran / Australia b.1949 / Untitled (brown slip) 1998 / Colour photogram on paper / 100.8 x 86.4cm; 100.8 x 86.4cm (comp.) / Purchased 2003. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Anne Ferran
Anne FerranUntitled (brown slip) 1998
Not Currently on Display
Anne Ferran obtains the subtlest effects in the use of the photogram technique to capture the transparent quality of various items of feminine apparel. Whether it is a wedding dress, shawl or slip, light shines through these fabrics to various intensities in relation to thickness and layering. The effect is like an x-ray; it suggests we can see through the fabric to reveal the secrets of sewn seams and stitches. Ferran imaginatively explores the tactility of clothing, the touch of skin on fabric and the relationship between fabric and photographic paper. The image evokes thoughts about the rituals of our lives and the memories of another time.
Through the process of the photogram, the garment has floated free of its past, and as viewers we are aware of how little we know of its history. This seems to expand the possibilities of interpretation and compound, rather than decrease, the work’s effect on us.
Sydney-based artist Anne Ferran has created striking photographs that conjure historical memories within the contemporary moment. Paying particular attention to feminist histories, Ferran’s artworks often portray women, objects used by women and children, and architecturally significant sites.
Through photography, Ferran imaginatively explores tactility, the touch of skin on fabric and fabric on paper. Imbued with emotional cues, her intentionally selective images hauntingly distil evidence of the past without revealing the full story of the people and places her viewers come to encounter.