WAYNE FOGDEN

14 JUNE - 2 JULY 2011

Wayne Fogden seemingly achieves the impossibility of blurring the lines between the painted image and the photograph. His latest body of work, titled simply Bronte Pool, is an entirely ethereal exploration of the delicate interaction between human’s and their natural environment.
Bronte pool is one of the last remaining ‘wave pools,’ in the Sydney area and hence is a beautiful showcase of the ability of nature to weather and mold the world in which we live. Locals flock to the spot to swim in the seemingly unadulterated water; a far cry from the heated, chlorinated and sterile pools of the various gyms and aquatic centers around the city.
Fogden’s images frequently include these locals within the landscape however their presence is dominated by the power and beauty of the surrounding water. The shoreline and surf is something that Australian’s are taught to not only respect but revere from an early age. The ocean’s splendor is matched only by its danger and again the reverence that is instilled in us, goes hand in hand with our submission to the possibility of its destructive capabilities. The Bronte pool stands as a small capsule of this tamed force of the ocean and allows those willing, to experience it briefly and calmly.
For anyone who has fallen in love with the waters of the East coast, nothing can ever replicate the beauty of that encounter. Wayne Fogden’s photography however is possibly the closest one can get to encapsulating it.