Photographic Exhibition Inspired by Dance

An extraordinary display of photographic works – La Poesia della Danza – is to open in Sydney this April-May.
“The Poetry of Dance” by Sydney-born (now rural Victorian-based) artist and photographer Kate Baker is part of a broader “Creation” series in development and features 18 black & white photographs.
It runs at the Harrison Galleries Paddington from 28 April to 17 May 2012 and also features a multimedia installation integrating images from the exhibition.
The photos, taken in Sydney in 2010, were made using film and developed and hand-crafted by the artist in her own darkroom. In an age where digital technology gives amateur photographers the semblance of artistry, Ms Baker is drawn by the intangible beauty and palpable imperfection of film.
The series of images portray the award-winning Sydney dancer and choreographer Venettia Miller ‘dancing from within’ – dancing to silence and natural light as inspired in the moment.
The titles are all musical terms such as Bisbigliando, Cadenza, Accarézzevole, Libero etc.
“This was a pure performance of dance as a spontaneous expression of the soul,” says Ms Baker.
“My work is about connectedness – the experience of being connected to something greater than ourselves and yet within us all. My aim through the photographs is to convey something of the essence of creativity in a way that is ‘felt’.
“Dance can be an extraordinary and connected experience… Conveying the ‘likeness’ of what we see – something that resembles the outer image – is easy. I seek to show what is beneath the surface. My hope is that La Poesia della Danza will be a doorway that allows anyone to feel what the dancer feels and somehow understand and connect with her dance, her poem.”

Kate Baker grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney and studied at Sydney University before travelling throughout Europe and working in the UK. She returned to Australia in the late ‘90s, settling in Sydney and working in the corporate world before deciding to pursue her passion and express her creative talents full-time. She now lives in the Don Valley in the upper reaches of Victoria’s Yarra Valley in a 107-year-old cabin without electricity (but with fresh mountain spring water!), on a large property within a rainforest. Her darkroom and studio on the same property have electricity and broadband – the best of both worlds!
La Poesia della Danza (The Poetry of Dance) opens to coincide with National Dance Week and the gala premiere on Saturday 28 April from 4-6pm will feature a live performance by Ms Miller. It runs Wed-Sat 10am to 5pm – or by appointment. Harrison Galleries 294 Glenmore Rd, Paddington 02 9380 7100 or info@harrisongalleries.com.au