MADISON

When someone mentions Hanging Rock, if you know the story, there’s instantly an overwhelming sense of mystery, which has no answer or conclusion. I don’t want this photo series to have an answer. Its meaning should be vague, to be widely interpreted. The answer in itself doesn’t matter.

 

Evidently, I’ve been heavily inspired by Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Peter Weir’s 1975 film based on the novel. When first explained camera obscura, and the process of photographing the image through tracing paper, I was reminded of how the ethereal, dreamy look of many scenes in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) was created by placing bridal veil fabric of various thicknesses over the camera lens. I noticed how a dreamy look could be produced from the camera obscura. I could have potentially used a translucent fabric instead of baking paper, but I didn’t think of that at the time.

 

So I took my sister to Hanging Rock, followed her and directed her as we climbed, and tried to capture the light, this spiritual aura, and an exploration of the Australian bush. We follow this mystery person who may not even be present, who simultaneously looks a part of the scene, yet contrasts to the nature surrounding. The 1900’s style dress helps with this. The clean white contrasts with the organic Australian bush. We also associate the 1900’s white dress and pale skin with ghostly imagery, which we link to the mystery around Hanging Rock (once the context is known).

 

It’s more about the feeling which the photos evoke than a particular worded meaning. The feeling is intriguing, ethereal, unsettling - you may wonder how much truth is in these photos, or if the girl is really there.