Michael Masters – Black & White Landscapes – The Photography Room

For the last few weeks I have been working on a commission for the Photography Room in Kingston. Photographer Sean Davey asked me to come in and look at the photographs in their main space, as well as some of the imagery from the then upcoming solo exhibition by Michael Masters, Black and White Landscapes.

I found a synergy between Michael’s work and a poem I have been working on based on images of Appalachia and some streetscapes of the USA. These two areas have been a focus of Michael’s photography exhibited in the Photography Room and the Black and White Landscapes solo exhibition.

Michael Masters

A second poem which I started specifically for the exhibition examines the Appalachian Trail and Canberra as the ‘Bush Capital’. This one draws concepts from the photographic exploration of critically endangered tree stands and grassy woodlands in Australia, as well as the Appalachian Trail which was established as a means to conserve natural landscapes in the USA.

A third poem has been developed extensively based on Michael’s streetscape photography and my own exploration of Canberra City but I don’t feel it is ready for the performance in the space this evening as it requires more edits to draw out its themes and form them into something that will challenge audiences.

Michael Masters

I am performing two of the three poems developed as part of the commission, along with two poems from my book, For All The Veronicas (The Dog Who Staid), at 6pm on Friday, 3 June in the Photography Room at the Kingston Bus Depot Markets. (This event was rescheduled to Midday Sunday 5 June).