Published in D-Photo Magazine in 2019
BALLARAT INTERNATIONAL FOTO BIENNALE
24 AUGUST – 20 OCTOBER 2019
“Look! It’s the invisible man.” “Where? I can’t see him.”
The Ballarat International Foto Biennale takes over the small city of Ballarat in
Victoria for two months every other year. There are exhibitions of
photographic art everywhere, from the Town Hall, the Mining Exchange and
art galleries to the cafes and bars, alleyways and streets. Even the Botanical
Gardens and the Observatory.
The star of this year’s undertaking is Chinese artist Liu Bolin, a.k.a. the
invisible man. His show consists of huge fascinating prints of himself standing
in front of the camera, painted all over to match the background exactly, so he
almost disappears.
He’s in front of Venice, Rome, New York, Beijing, a subway station, balloons,
a wall of guns, even a pile of coal. He (and his clothes) are so well painted
you’re sometimes not sure if he’s there at all. And it’s not just himself – there
are rows of fishermen in front of their boats, Indian tuk tuk drivers and others,
all disappearing into their backgrounds.
But that’s just the beginning. There are 30 other major photography
exhibitions, plus the Open Program, which has 57 more. You’d need at least
four or five days to see it all.
As well as that, the old city is fascinating. A visit to the goldfields town of
Sovereign Hill and the Gold Museum can take up a whole day on its own.
The whole exercise is fascinating and well worth the visit. But we never did
see the invisible man.
Ballarat is about 11⁄2 hours’ drive west of Melbourne Airport, or take the train
from Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station.
The George Hotel and Craig’s Royal Hotel are very central to everything, and
most of the exhibition venues are within walking distance.
ballaratfoto.org
liubolinstudio.com/fine-arts
visitballarat.com.au
sovereignhill.com.au
© Nick Servian
