Rosemary Laing

With an impressive portfolio of over 100 exhibitions, Rosemary Laing is a trailblazer in the realm of concept-based photography.

Rosemary Laing: Capturing Narratives Through Photo-Based Artistry

Born in 1959, Rosemary Laing, an esteemed Australian artist, is renowned for her cinematic ventures into photo-based art. Originally trained as a painter, she transitioned to photography, earning a Post Graduate Diploma from the Sydney College of the Arts and later completing a Master of Fine Arts with Honours from the College of Fine Arts, New South Wales. Laing has shared her artistic insights as a teacher at the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts.

Rosemary Laing's projects delve into the histories of places and situations, exploring the conditions shaping their contemporary context. Working extensively in the Australian landscape, she seamlessly integrates items from the built environment—furniture, carpets, clothing, and newspapers—into diverse settings, from dense foliage to coastal rock platforms and the desert.

The cumulative impact of Laing's projects transcends mere imagery; it forms an ongoing narrative, a reflective journey tracking periods and events that have left an indelible mark on cultural consciousness. Rosemary Laing's artistic prowess, grounded in a fusion of training, experience, and a profound connection to her homeland, positions her as a distinguished figure in the world of contemporary art.

Artistic Exploration: Intersecting Past and Present

Rosemary Laing's art offers a profound exploration grounded in post-colonial perspectives on land occupation and ownership, revealing the nuanced layers of Australia's cultural and historical identity. Through her lens, the landscape becomes a canvas where the complex relationships between past and present unfold. Her work delves into how historical events intersect with contemporary realities, unraveling the intricate layers of cultural history embedded in the Australian terrain.

One poignant example of this exploration is found in "one dozen unnatural disasters in the Australian landscape (#2)" (2003). In this work, Laing's artistic vision captures the essence of time's tapestry, where the visual narrative delves into the complexities of history and the palpable resonance it holds in the current moment.

Photography as Inquiry

Noteworthy is Laing's inclination for working in series, crafting thematic bodies of work that transcend individual pieces. These expansive series construct an ongoing narrative, each meticulously arranged for the camera. In her hands, photography ceases to be a mere replication of reality; instead, it becomes a series of inquiries into perception, particularly how one views the world through the lens of a camera.

For example, in the captivating series featuring "brumby mound #6" (2003), Laing situates her camera where it intimately embraces the desert vegetation in the sprawling foreground. On closer inspection, what initially appears to be brilliant red objects unfold as generic pieces of modern furniture. Despite diverse settings, the familiarity of Laing's disjunctive additions to these landscapes transforms both photographs into uncomfortable and disruptive versions of what initially seems like canonical Australian landscape scenes.

Notable exhibitions

Rosemary Laing's artistic influence has transcended borders, with over 100 exhibitions both individually and collaboratively since the 1980s. Her solo exhibitions have graced prestigious museums worldwide, showcasing her works at Museum of Contemporary Art Australia; Kunsthallen Brandts Klædefabrik, Denmark; Domus Artium 2002, Spain; National Museum of Art Osaka, Japan;  Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Tennessee.

Notable appearances include Istanbul Biennial, Turkey (1995); Busan Biennale, South Korea (2004); Venice Biennale, Italy (2007), and the Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2008).