A new exhibition of portraits by Australian photographer, Carol Jerrems, opens at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra on 30 November and runs until 2 March 2025.
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979; one of the portraits in the exhibition. (Source: National Library of Australia.)
Carol Jerrems: Portraits is a major exhibition of one of Australia’s most influential photographers, despite her relatively brief career that spanned only 12 years before her tragic death at the age of 30. Jerrems’ intimate portraits of friends, lovers and artistic peers were taken against the backdrop of social change in the 1970s, which included significant events like the women’s movement, First Nations activism and youth subcultures. She was a voracious observer yet also intentional in her approach to narrative and composition. Her photographs play with tension and dramatic impact. They are candid but at times consciously performative; vulnerable but also tough; melancholic yet joyful.
Images presented in the exhibition are drawn from the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the National Library of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition showcases more than 140 photographs, from Jerrems’ lesser-known early work to the now iconic Vale Street 1975, and coincides with the 50th anniversary of her landmark publication A book about Australian women.
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