see food: Australian food photographers 1957-1997
This exhibition was organised in association with the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival 1997.
The show began by selecting images from Australian food photographers recommended by peers drawn from members of the Society of Advertising Commercial and Magazine Photographers (ACMP). Work which spanned a number of decades was of particular interest, in the belief that it would tell us something of the changes in social history and sense of identity, as different influences are taken up and absorbed in the cuisine. We began with the belief that the visual styling of food is an important indicator of shifting cultural values. All that we have seen reinforces that belief. Further, we wondered at the extent to which the imaging of food via photography would engage with a fine arts tradition in terms of various movements and genres. And finally we wanted to display the remarkable technical sophistication that much food photography demands.
Latrobe Colour Laboratories, Bond Colour Laboratories and Bond Imaging and CPL printed the images for the exhibition. The 1997 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in the person of Sylvia Johnson has been a tireless supporter along with Tunnel Hill Wine’s Bella Donaldson, our generous co-sponsors of the exhibition. The RMIT Gallery was prepared with the assistance of David Jackson of Bristol paints. Finally, we thank the photographers who responded so generously and enthusiastically to our exhibition brief, providing us with the images with which we were able to shape the exhibition, and in turn, the stylists with whom they worked.