The Bell Tower Project

The Bell Tower Project is a photographic series documenting the extraordinary views observed from my studio window each day, between October 2012 - April 2014.

Each evening, with my camera mounted to a tripod on my windowsill, I focused the lens into the far distant sky overlooking St. Luke’s bell tower in Enmore, Sydney, and sat quietly by the window observing and documenting the nuances of light and shadow, stillness and activity, beauty and bleakness, play out across the sky, above the rumblings of traffic and the occasional melodic sounds of hymns wafting up from the church below.

Drawing on the thematic use of repetition to depict changes in seasons, weather, and perception of light, The Bell Tower references historic traditions established by artists such as Monet in his series Haystacks. Through repetition of subject matter, subtleties come into perception such as the transience of light and nuances of colour and tone, highlighted through seasonal and weather changes.

For many years I had admired the extraordinary view of the bell tower silhouetted against the twilight sky from my window. Commencing the daily practice of photographing this view opened up a new world to me, drawing my attention to the subtleties of cloud formations, light variations, bird and air traffic, and awareness of the seasonal shifting of the sun with reference to the bell tower. I now look at the sky in a completely new way, and with new appreciation of the fact that even within a concrete jungle such as the Inner West, there is beauty if you look for it.

The exhibition featured the most compelling of the photographs taken over the 18-month period, and was officially opened by Dr Ella Dreyfus, Artist, Academic and Head of Public Programs at the National Art School, Sydney, on Thursday 1 May at Gallery X88 in Paddington.