New Archivalia - 2019




New Archivalia at Le Space Gallery, December 2019


New Archivalia is a photographic project driven by practical and theoretical research which seeks to explore the unique connection between photography and the archive and the dynamics of the photograph’s role as either passive archived material or as an active and agential means of preserving, cataloguing, and documenting. The project considers the notion of archival spaces as continuously evolving. The work seeks to investigate contemporary notions of the archive, in its iterations both physical and digital and ultimately in its relation to power structures.

New Archivalia takes the form of moving image, photographic prints, and a publication. The work is the result of a Master of Arts – photography project undertaken at Photography Studies College, Melbourne. The project consists of photographs from various archival sites in different physical locations, however through sequencing within the publication and as printed works they share a visual proximity to establish a singular, imagined archive space. The photographs, photobook, and video work created over the course of this project are heavily supported by in-depth research of historical and contemporary theory in the fields of both photography and archival practice. Ultimately, the work considers the archive as an evolving and mutating space for both personal reflection and hierarchical change.