Simon Fujiwara (UK/JP)

Joanne

18 February 2021 - 07 March 2021
Image: Simon Fujiwara, [Joanne], 2016/2018. Courtesy the artist; FVU, The Photographers’ Gallery; Ishikawa Foundation; and Esther Schipper, Berlin. Film still © the artist.

Image: Simon Fujiwara, Joanne, 2016/2018. Courtesy the artist; FVU, The Photographers’ Gallery; Ishikawa Foundation; and Esther Schipper, Berlin. Film still © the artist.

When

18 February 2021 - 07 March 2021

Region

Central

Venue

Anna Schwartz Gallery [i]
185 Flinders Ln, Melbourne
Tue – Fri, 12pm – 5pm
Sat, 1pm – 5pm

Accessibility

Please note that gallery 02 is accessed via stairs

Simon Fujiwara’s work can be seen as a response to the cultural obsession with self-presentation that new technologies provoke in individuals.

His film Joanne depicts the many faces of his former secondary school teacher, Joanne Salley—winner of the 1998 Miss Northern Ireland beauty pageant, artist, teacher and champion boxer.

After nurturing Fujiwara’s creative talents at the prestigious Harrow School for boys, Salley found herself at the centre of a damaging British tabloid scandal where students discovered and circulated topless photographs of her that had been taken privately. Five years on, Fujiwara and Salley produced a short film exploring the scandal, aiming to present a more complex picture of her.

The film follows the pair as they meet with professionals from the worlds of fashion, advertising and PR. Employing various media—from Instagram to high-end fashion photographs—they orchestrate Joanne’s new public image.

Commissioned by FVU, The Photographers’ Gallery and Ishikawa Foundation
Supported by Arts Council England

Presented by Photo Australia for PHOTO 2021

Supported by British Council

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Artists

Founding Partners
  • Bowness Family Foundation
  • Naomi Milgrom Foundation
Major Government Partners
  • City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program
  • Creative Victoria
Major Partners
  • Maddocks

PHOTO Australia respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands upon which we work and live, and the rich and diverse Indigenous cultures across what is now called Australia. For over 60,000 years, Indigenous arts and culture have thrived on this sacred land, and we honour Elders and cultural leaders past and present. This was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

01–24 March