Hunter women photographers cast light on passion projects

WHIP (Women from the Hunter in Photography) is a collective of photographers who appreciate the art of the craft, and what they can say through the media.

The WHIP collective launched a show on the weekend, Stories of Light, at Watt Space Gallery in which 25 photographers bare their souls and express their love of the medium through a dazzling array of images they have produced through individual projects.

It's almost a tradition, and fittingly so, for this loose-knit group of women to produce a show that falls on International Women's Day.

The 25 participating photo artists are Kelly Barlin, Hilda Bezuidenhout, Karen Brown, Janice Cameron, Justine Cogan, Shana Dennis, Louise Faulkner, Penelope Green, Lotte Hilder, Lee Illfield, Tara Jones, Kate Kennedy, Melanie Muddle, Catharine Neilson, Brydie Piaf, Edwina Richards, Hannah Robinson, Dominique Ryan, Malvika Satelkar, Renae Saxby, Wednesday Sutherland, Emma Warren, Clare Weeks, Katherine Williams and the late Liz O'Brien.

"There is this incredible interest in photography that isn't really tapped, in my view," says Edwina Richards, a photographer and one of the founders of WHIP.

"People are interested in photography as a medium, even if they're not professional. It's because everyone's got cameras on them all the time.

"The real interest to me is how people are crossing genres and using different skills to tell stories. And they are local stories.

"There are personal ones, a lot of self portraits, some really powerful stuff that didn't make the [press] media because it's pretty raw. Death and cancer and that kind of stuff. That range of the craft and the art and all those different approaches, I think that's the real pull of this show."

Among the many works in the show:

Edwina Richards' own work in the show came out of commercial work she had been doing on the Saving Our Species project run by NSW Environment and Heritage. She's developed a passion for the endangered Magenta Lilly Pilly, seeking out the endangered trees and capturing them at night in dramatic photography.

There are previously unseen photographs by Liz O'Brien, a talented young Hunter Valley creative who worked across multiple genres before her sudden death in 2022.

There are works from Hilda Bezuidenhout, who has a great affinity for working in or near water.

Penelope Green, a Newcastle journalist who spends every morning swimming in the ocean, captures early morning swimmers, the "swimrise" moment. For her, that daily swim is "a life-affirming, compulsive act to recharge and release the pressures of life as a primary carer/employee/friend/human".

Renae Saxby describes her work, Fire Scars, as "Fire on the land, scars in my head. A personal exploration of grief, illness and fire. This work is an ongoing series following the loss of several loved ones in a short space of time, the diagnosis of my brain disorder which was triggered by the grief, and the healing force of fire which has been a constant in my journey".

Janice Cameron contributed Courage - self portrait. In her own words: "Confronting breast cancer, I transcended traditional roles as a daughter, a mother, a partner, an employee that had previously buried me. Bravery fueled my journey, inspiring a commitment to help others facing their own dark night of the soul."

Brydie Piaf's work in the show, The Right Vibes (ii), was inspired by her connection with Newcastle icon Vera Deacon, who died in 2021, and her ongoing project, A Woman of Water.

Louise Faulkner's work, In my grandmother's house, is a mix of poetry, original photography and found photos of her grandmother, presented in 22 vintage plates. "This is an intensely personal work, created from memory and light, presented in objects both aged and precious," she says.

Two artists Judy Johnson and Clare Weeks dish up some delicious advice for life. Writer Judy mixes the words and photomedia artist Clare whips them up behind the camera.

Karen Brown's Stories of Light are a body of work as part of larger "ArtKley" series (inspired by Australian painter Howard Arkley. The set in the exhibition is Home, a series of digital drawings based on property photographs she shot commercially. Brown has a vast collection of images that showcase where and how we live in Newcastle and surrounds.

Em Warren describes her Choose Your Own Adventure photograph in the show as a "'happy accident" photo that "brought to my mind the covers of kids and YA adventure books, full of exploration, tunnels, riding bikes and more.

Justine Cogan's photograph, Not a Funeral, in her words, "explores spaces of care/Care and reflects on the fragile intersection between public and private spheres". Using photomontage Cogan "re-orders images taken during personal moments as a carer/Carer to expand on feelings of connection, intimacy and vulnerability".

Shana Dennis describes her work, The Devil, as "a self portrait, that depicts the brooding darkness that is a part of me. I acknowledge all parts of myself, the good, the bad and the ugly. Without darkness there is no light and this is me as my shadow self".

Malvika Satelkar work, Molecular Dance, combines sculptural film and poetry. "This visual poetic sculptural film is made with a pure intention of loving, Love," she says. "We want to/can be/ need to be/ expected to be affectionate towards someone or something in a particular moment but truth lies in, if your affection comes from a raw, compassionate space that is about Loving, Love."

When Edwina Richards first sent a text to measure interest in forming a collective of women photographers in Newcastle, she wanted what she called an "art school vibe" where the photographers could openly give feedback about each other's work. The response was quick and positive, she remembers, and that openness remains part of the glue that holds the collective together.

It's still loose: "Membership is pretty fluid," she says. "It's not too organised. There's no board. No admin for applications. It's more of a very fluid movement or art group. If you want to be involved, get in touch, hang out, get a sense of it.

"You have to be a professional in some capacity, and photography has to be your main thing. But it's really on the spirit of the thing."

Importantly, she notes: "We have this community of doers, that's pretty rare as well."

"When I first started out, I was doing stills in the film industry," Richards says.

"I called myself Ed for a very good reason: so people didn't know what gender I was. It was that world, and there's still this huge gap, something like 20 to 30 per cent [are women]. It's still very low. And 60 to 70 per cent of [photography] students are women. It's a weird gap.

"Saying that, we will collaborate with all other photographers in Newcastle to do something at some point. We are not like a closed club. We have lots of friends who aren't female.

"We did form to address an imbalance, definitely, and form a very supportive community.

"It's also practical. We share equipment, we share jobs, acknowledge if someone wins a prize.

"Photography is a solo world. To have a community like this is invaluable, to feel like we're in it together. That's the main thing, actually, with the group. There's a lot of great photographers out there, but not necessarily getting that vibe, that spirit of generosity. So that's our main criteria - you have to want to share, be supportive."

The Stories of Light exhibition is accompanied by a series of free or low-cost public workshops and talks run by some of WHIP's award-winning photo artist and photo voice specialists, who will be sharing skills and encouraging experimental play using a variety of techniques (collage, cyanotype, self portraiture, storytelling, light painting, night photography and so on).

Stories of Light partners include Watt Space Gallery, Newcastle Writers Festival, This is Not Art, City of Newcastle.