It Seems to Come in Waves - group exhibition

It Seems to Come in Waves and is a group show centred on contemporary surf and ocean photography, focusing on four artists from the Central Coast, New South Wales, all early to mid-career photographers: Luke Shadbolt, Ryan Heywood, Spence Hornby, and Reed Plummer. It represents contemporary practice in surf photography and shows the emerging possibilities of the medium. It represents contemporary practice in surf photography and shows the emerging possibilities of the medium.

Ocean photography became popular with the rise of surf culture in the 60s and 70s. Characterised by combining an understanding of the technological, conceptual, and the elemental, it is an art-form borne of connection.

The last ten years has seen major changes within this niche industry. The increasing move towards digital content and decline of the print industry has led to a lack of financial incentive to pursue this art form. Meanwhile, improvements in camera technology, drones, and underwater equipment have led to new perspectives being captured with renewed personal clarity and increasingly extreme shifts in the climate and aquatic environment have been tracked and documented in greater detail than ever before.

Connection to the environment is sustained in constant collaboration and compromise. It requires an in-depth understanding of coastal weather, tidal movements, wind, and swell forecasts, a cavalier attitude, and the ability to drop everything at a moment’s notice to pursue swells from seasonal weather events all around the world. Connection to the surf community is at the heart of the art form. It is developed through common rituals of camaraderie, where respect is earned over time.