An Opening in a Cloudy Sky

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Research Background: An Opening in a Cloudy Sky belongs to the tradition of constructed photographs - photographs that create a reality that does not exist in the world. From the analogue photography of Frank Hurley to the digital manipulation of Jeff Wall, photography questions the truth of what we see. The perceived 'reality' of the world is increasingly mediated by what we view on the ubiquitous screens of mobile devices. An Opening in a Cloudy Sky combines 3 of my photographs and a downloaded image from a mobile phone app to question contemporary understandings of the immediate environment by simultaneously depicting a hyper-realistic cloud formation in daylight and an image of the constellations of the night sky. Research Contribution: Eyes downward, we appear to be becoming apathetic to and less aware of our surroundings and a small phone or tablet screen often mediates our engagement with the world. Phenomena, such as the sky at night that we are unable to see with our eyes because of light pollution or cloud cover, we can now virtually 'see' by using certain apps on smart phones or tablets. In this photograph I constructed towering cloud formations from one source, the landscape from another and superimposed a screen shot provided by the iPhone App, Night Sky to create an image steeped in Romanticism to evoke an emotional response and draw the gaze upwards, building on the practice of manipulating photographs to present a heightened reality. Research Significance: This image was also shortlisted for the Fremantle Arts Centre Print Award where it was Highly Commended. Curators: Hobart - Gabriella Bisetto UniSA, Peter Hughes Curator TMAG and Michael Kempson UNSW and Fremantle: Peter Burgess NAS, Dr Anne Kirker and Leigh Robb Curator PICA selected works for both exhibitions from a vast national field.