TALKING THROUGH YOUR ARTS: SOUVENIRS

There is an equal quantity of articles stamped, embossed, or printed with pictures of the Harbour, Opera House, imported cheeses and exported buskers. Souvenir photography is a task that never ceases. The streets are a floating population of humanity with cameras slung on the ready. It is here, amongst the pavement chatter Destination NSW decides, as Howard said in 1988, “the cultural identity and the cultural destiny of this city and nobody else”.

It was in 2008 when police closed down an exhibition of provocative photographs following then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s statement of condemnation. Fuelled by the media, Bill Henson’s offending photographs were unmounted by the Roslyn Oxley Gallery for fear of public out-pouring. Five years on, our city’s State tourism agency condemns 15 photo-documenters work. The photographs were to be screened outside Customs House as presented by Reportage and partnered with the Vivid Festival’s Light Walk and Ideas program. The censored images were classified as “distressing” and not appropriate for screening in the public domain. However, there is an inconsistency in the Destination NSW ruling with banned work still being viewed publicly indoors at the MCA.

The Vivid Ideas program features internationally renowned photographers, James Nachtwey and David Burnett. Jodi Bieber – whose work was among the 15 to be edited – withdrew participation in protest. The talks program of exchanging international ideas and developing creativity is under exposed.

At the launch of Vivid, Andrew Stoner, Deputy Premier, reinforced Sydney’s position as “Australia’s global city and the creative hub of the Asia-Pacific”.

This comes at a time when the City of Sydney is in the process of bedding a Creative Cultural Policy. What kind of pictorial record are we gifting our cosmopolitan inhabitants? A shrill kaleidoscopic record, partly sedate, partly defined, partly glittering and self-assured. (AS)

BY ANGELA STRETCH