GEORGE FETTING

11 - 30 MARCH 2004

On Thursday 11th March 2004, a new exhibition opens at Blender Gallery in Paddington.

‘Liquidity’ is George Fetting’s latest body of work and first exhibition at Blender Gallery.


George Fetting uses his camera to evoke a sense of mystery and movement in his photographs.


In ‘Liquidity’ Fetting creates a theme that explores time, motion, fluid and space.


A palette that renders tones, colour and movement in more painterly visages than traditional photographic capture.


The transitory nature of these images opens other dimensions for the eye to journey – seascapes, cloudscapes and mélanges of colour, that interpret a slice of time and motion frozen.

This coalescence of blended tones – cool cyans and warm hues form an abstract approach to some popular and common sites around Sydney. Only on closer inspection can you sometimes see the origin of these images – but that to Fetting that’s all the better.


The painterly style of Liquidity and the fluidity of it’s approach is not meant to be a trip to the beach – but an exploration devoid of virtually any human presence, this in a city of 4 million.


Luminous and radiant these images often invoke a sense of calm – of purpose and place.

Press, photo documentaries, portraiture, food and fashion: George Fetting has turned his eye to several styles of photography over two decades as a staff and freelance photographer.


But when he has some downtime, Fetting takes his camera to the coast and shoots pictures for himself.


Right back to his art college days in Brisbane, personal work has always been important to him. Liquidity is a series of images he began creating in January 2003 and is a new direction in his photography. The results are relaxed, uninhibited, blissful - and very Sydney.

"Living by the coast, most Sydneysiders have an affinity for the outdoors," Fetting says. "I'm no different - I've always had a fascination for the sea and the sky and the immense power the climate has over our lives.”

"Sydney had such volatile weather last summer - the skies were often incredibly varied. A lot of these images were shot late in the afternoon or in cloudy or rainy conditions.”


There were several approaches to the series - skies, light reflecting off water and the details in bodies of water. The locations vary, too - anywhere along the coast from La Perouse to the heads. All the images share a common theme of fluid motion.

"My aim is to create images with a certain depth and feel - I'm particularly pleased when their photographic origin isn't immediately obvious" says Fetting.

Liquidity celebrates freedom, time off and Fetting's enjoyment of exploring Sydney's coast. It's about the surprise and pleasure in discovery, either by design or by accident - varying the exposure times would sometimes create an unexpected image.

Sunlight and cloudscapes, the sea and the sky coalesce in these images in an abstract and painterly way - saturated and iridescent colours, sensuous and shimmering.

Fluid skies and etheric seas. Flow and reflection. Liquidity.