You Workin’ is a site-specific series that draws on the personal and collective histories of two disparate places.
The phrase refers to a familiar statement from when I lived in inner-city Brisbane, my wife was often asked, as she was walking home if she “was working tonight darlin’?” The question references that time spent in Brisbane, as well the Brooklyn Bridge, a historic location for soliciting prostitution.
The images of iconic American symbols such as the Statue of Liberty and the bald eagle, are re-contextualized by referring to contemporary events in the United States of America, where the Trump presidency threatens the historical legitimacy and legacy of western democracies, including our own.
Recently, I have spent several months in New York on residencies and educational travel, and I have become invested in the community and cultural life of the United States. The destabilization and potential criminality of the current administration raises questions that were never previously envisioned.
Artist Bios
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Martin Smith
Martin Smith recently completed his PhD at Griffith University, and is the program leader of the Photographic Art Practices in the photography department at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.
His works have been exhibited internationally at the Hong Kong Art Fair, Paris Photo, House Projects in New York, and Photo L..A. In Australia, he has exhibited at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in Sydney, and the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.
His work is held in the collections of the Queensland Art Gallery, Monash City Gallery of Art, the Museum of Old and New Art, the University of Queensland Art Museum, Artbank, and private collections in Australia, Hong Kong, France, and the United States.
He has been awarded the Veolia Prize, the Clayton Utz Traveling Scholarship and the Prometheus Award. In 2008 he released a monograph titled Martin Smith Photographs: In response to…
Organizations
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Photoville
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
You workin’
Featuring: Martin Smith
Locations
View Location Details Download a detailed map of this location Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza1 Water St
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
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