A new photo book that holds a mirror to Australia's
soul. "It's not a political book," says Frank. It is…
Australia. Now there’s a tricky one.
A couple beats over 200 years ago, Captain James Cook plants a
flag in the name of England on a stretch of sand and the fun
begins. Between now and then unravels a lively tapestry of identity
defining moments and a flood of immigrants that helped shape the
country into what it is today.
And that’s where it gets a bit confusing.
Australia’s home to 23 million people, a mixture of good, bad,
angry and sad all living in a beautiful country girt by sea. And if
you had to pick one photographer to turn the lens on the people
that for better or worse make Australia what it is-wouldn’t you be
glad it’s Jon Frank?
Frank has set aside a year to, in
part, frame Australia’s identity but to also “take you on a
trip through a modern-day Australia far removed from the colour
brochure. It will weave an unflinching visual narrative to lead the
reader through the streets and back-blocks of our capital cities
and rural centres.”
The end result will be a large-format
book simply titled, Australians, all shot in the
distinctive Frank style, the style that set the Cronulla-raised
immigrant apart from the herd early on in his stellar career.
“It’s not a political book,” says
Frank. “But to tell you the truth, the Australia I landed in
aged 10 to the one we have now. It’s a completely different country
with a different set of ethics and morals.”
Frank’s chosen to shoot the book on film and at times of the day
which offer little in the way of flattering light. It’s a decision
which certainly gives the shots a certain feel but also harkens
back to his body of work as a surf photographer, open, often empty,
but always stunning.
“I made a conscious decision to avoid trickery in the project
and that may very well turn out be a case of me biting off my nose
to spite my face,” he says. “But, I don’t want to use beauty to
distract from the honesty of the work. I started off saying no
tricks, no using the light to provide dramatic affect. I’m
trying to not get caught up in the games photographers can play
using light but I don’t know how long I’m going to go along that
road. I might change tack halfway through and decide I need to add
some beautiful light, make things a bit more varied, but at the
moment I’m just trying to get to the nuts and bolts of the
people.”
The early results, which can be seen on an accompanying blog
(click here) are what you’d expect from Frank but are
also slightly uncomfortable to look at, as if we’re catching a
glimpse into an odd mundane private moment.
“I don’t approach anyone,” says Frank of his method. “And not
everyone likes having their picture taken. I’m a sensitive person
but there’s a certain amount of aggression needed to lift the
camera to your eye, stare someone down and take their picture. I’m
not always comfortable doing it but I see the benefit outweighing
any sort of squeamishness I might have about photographing a
stranger.”
Frank’s also embraced social media to chronicle the making of
the book, a welcome decision to his legions of fans but one he
reckons he may never would have if not for the book. “I’m no
luddite and let’s face it, the world doesn’t need another
photograph, that’s for sure,” he says.
So what’s the point? “I get depressed sometimes about the
new media landscape and the sheer quantity of visual information.
But, at the same time I find it liberating to pursue the craft of
photography using the techniques I enjoy but in a modern way, using
modern methods of communication like the blog and Instagram to take
people with me on the making of journey.”
Among the many looking forward to the end product is Aquabumps
founder, Eugene Tan, a much lauded chronicler of the Australian
identity and one of many to admit to being influenced by Frank’s
style.
“Jon makes people feel very
comfortable and in turn is able to capture those intimate moments,”
says Tan. “I can imagine the end result will be pretty
special, real and personal.”
