Stu Murphy Context 2019
Giclée print on Moab archival 300 GSM 100% cotton rag paper
87.50h x 152w cm
Congratulations to Clarence Valley artist Stu Murphy, who has received an award in the Australian Photography Awards (APA) Aerial category.
The aerial category shows the majesty of our earth, its landscapes and cityscapes from perspectives above and beyond. Through his aerial photography, Stu combines his passions for environmental science and the arts, encouraging his audience to consider the contributions that our region’s wetlands make to our greater planet.
On his award winning image Context, Stu says:
This man made acid scald in a NSW north coast wetland was inundated in water just 2 days before I took this photo. The cracks in the clay hadn't had time to close up and and the rich colour of the iron was bolstered by the super clear acidic water over the top. Brolgas wade dissatisfied in search of food.
My aerial photography has a story which inevitably involves human interference in the landscape in some way. An interference that in some photos is obvious to the eye such as a fence line and some more difficult to detect like changes in soil chemistry triggered by altered hydrology. The interference can result in stark contrasts in vegetation within an image or crazy intense colours coupled with seemingly absurd surface textures.