A place in time: photographs of Viva Gibbs

© Viva Gibb. Signora at her house in Hawke Street, West Melbourne 1983. Gelatin silver print 23.5 x 18.5 cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, donated by Sybil Gibb and Rupert Duffy in memory of Viva Gibb, 2019. Courtesy of the Estate of Viva Gibb.
© Viva Gibb. Signora at her house in Hawke Street, West Melbourne 1983. Gelatin silver print 23.5 x 18.5 cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, donated by Sybil Gibb and Rupert Duffy in
memory of Viva Gibb, 2019. Courtesy of the Estate of Viva Gibb.

Viva Gibb (1945-2017) was a Melbourne-based artist whose commitment to social documentary photography saw her create a unique body of work that is both personal and political. This collection of images is the first public gallery showing of Gibb's work in over 30 years. The photographs are drawn from a large body of her work that was recently acquired into MGA's collection, generously donated by the artist's estate.

© Viva Gibb. Local man and his dog on a windy day, Roden Street, West Melbourne, c. 1982. Gelatin silver print 19.2 x 18.5 cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, donated by Sybil Gibb and Rupert Duffy in memory of Viva Gibb, 2019.
Courtesy of the Estate of Viva Gibb.
© Viva Gibb. Local man and his dog on a windy day, Roden Street, West Melbourne, c. 1982. Gelatin silver
print 19.2 x 18.5 cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection,
donated by Sybil Gibb and Rupert Duffy in memory of Viva Gibb, 2019.
Courtesy of the Estate of Viva Gibb.

The photographs included in this exhibtion were taken in the artist's neighbourhood, in West and North Melbourne during the 1970s and 1980s. Living, working, and raising two children in West Melbourne, Gibb immersed herself in her local community, observing and documenting the people around her. Gibb created warm and sympathetic portraits of children, migrants, workers, and elderly citizens, and also documented sub-cultures, religious rituals, and street events. Her informal and intimate compositions celebrate the everyday and reveal her progressive and compassionate approach to humanity. Politically engaged and sensitively produced, these works provide small windows into the lives of ordinary people, which are today historically and culturally significant social documentations of a particular place in time.

Curator: Stella Loftus-Hills.

© Viva Gibb. Stephan Finckle and Jessie Towsey at 64 Capel Street 1977. Gelatin silver print 14.0 x 13.8 cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, donated by Sybil Gibb and Rupert Duffy in memory of Viva Gibb, 2019.
Courtesy of the Estate of Viva Gibb.
© Viva Gibb. Stephan Finckle and Jessie Towsey at 64 Capel Street 1977. Gelatin silver print 14.0 x 13.8 cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, donated by Sybil Gibb and Rupert Duffy in memory of Viva Gibb, 2019. Courtesy of the Estate of Viva Gibb.

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November

Sydney: The exhibition delves into the State Library of NSW's vast collection of two million images, showcasing 400 photos – many displayed for the first time.

February

Ballarat: Scotty So is a Melbourne-based artist who works across media, using painting, photography, sculptures, site-responsive installation, videos and drag performance.

Melbourne: Jill Orr’s The Promised Land Refigured is an exhibition that reworks the original project created in 2012 with new insights that have emerged in the past eleven years.

Sydney: Curated by Lynn Smith, Urban Enigmas aims to unlock the subtle mysteries that lurk in out-of-the-way places in big cities: back lanes, river banks, street markets, abandoned factories, old bridges and so on.

March

Ballarat: Nan Goldin is an American artist whose work explores subcultures, moments of intimacy, the impacts of the HIV/AIDS and opioid epidemics on her communities, and photography as a tool for social activism.

Sydney: The Ocean Photographer of the Year Award, run by London based Oceanographic Magazine is in its 4th year and has quickly achieved recognition amongst photographers around the world.

Albury: The National Photography Prize offers a $30,000 acquisitive prize, the $5000 John and Margaret Baker Fellowship for an emerging practitioner, and further supports a number of artists through focused acquisitions.