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        Shortlisted x 2 Australian Photography Awards 2023    
         4th October, 2023    


    Thank you to Photo Collective for shortlisting 2 x of my new works 'Everything is Beautiful' and 'The Birth of the First Galaxy' in the Australian Photography Awards for 2023, alongside so many other amazing photographers. Thank you Tom Goldner, Harriet Tarbuck and Angus Scott.

    The APA Exhibition & Awards Ceremony is being held on October 21st at Bodriggy Brewpub where works will be exhibiting & the top ten finalists from each category of the 2023 prize recipients will be announced. 





       
      


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        Art Almanac interview, September 2023    
         August 24th, 2023    
       



    In the studio: Lilli Waters
    Questions by Kate McAuley

    How would you describe your work?

    My work is an ongoing exploration of the human experience, of being a woman in a patriarchal society and an expression of my deep love for the environment. It is inspired by the fierceness of the women in my family who were humanitarian and environmental activists.

    The photographs I take are often haunting and dramatic. They represent a fantasy, perhaps these women are what I would like to be, raw, free and in tune with mother nature, connected and immersed, the same way I lived as a young child. I was born on a rural counter-culture community in Wytaliba NSW, where we had no running water or electricity and people built their own houses, grew their produce on the land and washed and swam in the river. Nature had a vivid presence in our daily life, we were intrinsically linked, and I have forever been drawn to bodies of water. Often, I wake and find myself yearning to be close to flowing water, where I feel most at home and where I inhabit my most childlike self.

    In my photographs, the female form is very much a part of the landscape, she seems as though she belongs, yet, there is something otherworldly about her. Dancing between beauty, light, pain and darkness and offering a contrasting portrait, she is both strong and vulnerable, thriving and in harmony with her surroundings.

    The women contradict stereotypes of feminine frailty; they appear to be birthed into nature, or perhaps birthed from nature; naked yet fearless and empowered. I'm interested in a re-thinking of notions of beauty and the body, vulnerability and power. This resonates with me because it allows me to float above the confines of reality and create a visual language that feels otherworldly, the unearthly and the ethereal, inviting viewers to engage in a realm where imagination and beauty intertwine.


    How did the work evolve for your new show? How did you come up with the title and titles of the individual works?

    I was drawn to work with more than one female subject, as I have worked with the same model for many years now and was looking to explore the dynamics between women, which presented more challenges and planning. I wanted to continue exploring gold fabrics, a symbolic motif carried on from my previous body of work ‘Orpheus’ created in 2021. I had seen the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the NGV and felt that my work resonated with many of the fascinating meanings behind his fabrics and designs. I started collecting different fabrics with gold embellishments, jewelled in shining beads, symbolising both strength and beauty, softness and the fragility of the female, and metallic bronze, reminiscent of the noble metals of ancient warriors’ armour.

    The title of the series ‘Pay Attention to the Heavens’ was inspired by the biblical sentiment to pay attention to God, as a comment on the urgency and vast destruction of our ecosystems and environment due to rapid climate change and global warming. To pay close attention to what the skies and seas and land are telling us and to question the way most of us are living, detached from nature. The images invite us to be curious about our relationship with the natural world, perhaps conjuring up something primal and forgotten.

    I come from an abusive childhood, and see my practice as part of the journey through healing trauma, and self-discovery. Flooded refers to rising sea levels and devastating floods, as well as the ‘flooding’ we experience when we are overwhelmed with strong emotions and dysregulation.

    'Into the Vortex' portrays the swirling whirlpool in which the subjects are immersed, the rapid rotatory of the water, possibly dangerous and otherworldly. It also nods to the work of author Esther Hicks who explores the concept that everything in this universe is an energy that carries a certain frequency and that we are vibrational beings. When you are in the vortex, the Universe is working for your highest good.

    'God is a Woman' and 'The Birth of the First Galaxy' both show a pregnant woman, representing fertility, a woman as the giver of life, mother of all the living and perhaps a celestial being, the creator of worlds. 'Disarm the Gods' comments on the urgency to protect our planet and a need to disarm those in power whose greed is destroying everything. The female figures in this photograph appear like a powerful force of nature flying off to save our world, evocative of a clawing back of the divine from the realm of men.

    'Everything is Beautiful' describes the way I feel when I am ‘in the vortex’. Life and nature are so breathtakingly beautiful, even when the world can seem so ugly and chaotic. When I feel high on life, the beauty of the natural world can make me feel energised and in love with everything.

    What can we expect from your work at Sydney Contemporary?

    The moving images from this series are showing at Sydney Contemporary at Carriageworks this year, which is very exciting and has been a longtime dream for me. The art fair is on at the same time as my exhibition at Curatorial and Co. gallery, it opens one week later, so people will be able to see the full series between each of the exhibitions.

    For the stills and moving image of the work Into the Vortex, I had been looking over my fabrics the evening before the shoot and envisioned particular pieces resembling a moth-like creature, so we stayed up late sewing the fabrics together to create a wrap-around garment with long sleeves, that would appear like wings in the water.

    I watched in awe from the water's edge as the female figure in this work effortlessly floated away, gently turning a full circle with the flow of the whirlpool, so at peace floating on top of this wild river water. For a brief moment, I saw glimpses of Ophelia floating right in front of my eyes, though this didn't feel tragic, but rather dreamlike and powerful, she was one with the water. I stood staring in amazement at how flawless and serene she was, the fabric we had sewn together worked as perfect wings. It was one of those incredible moments that can’t be planned, it just magically happened.

    These are the moments when photography makes me feel so alive. I see my process as a special collaboration with women and with nature - whatever happens on the other side of the lens is somewhat out of my control, and there can be wildness to it. The magic, mystery, joy, and wonder lie in what happens within that space, and bearing witness to it, regardless of the months of preparation leading up to a photo series. It often feels like a journey of intensive planning and then a forced ‘letting go’ of control in the moment, where photographs often emerge with their own integrity.

    With such deep and meaningful messages in your pieces, how do you come to the concepts behind your pieces?

    In preparation for shooting this series, I drew inspiration from the timeless elegance and transcendent qualities often found in Renaissance paintings. I delved into the worlds of Botticelli, Caravaggio, Klimt and The Pre-Raphaelite era, as well as Alexander McQueen, and incessantly listened to Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart and Paganini. I played classical violin for thirteen years so this music is deeply nostalgic for me, it feels like home, both beautiful and painful.

    The themes and concepts I come up with are an embodiment of the multifaceted nature of being in a woman's skin. I find the portrayal of femininity in contemporary society is often limited or distorted by societal expectations and stereotypes, even still in 2023. Through my work, I aim to challenge these norms and present a more expansive and authentic representation of women. By empowering women through my art, I hope to inspire a sense of self-acceptance, confidence, and appreciation for the inherent power that resides within us.

    How does your environment inform your work?

    When photographing subjects in nature, the environment informs everything. In 2018 for the making of the series Others Dream for an exhibition in Florence, Italy, I flew to Western Australia with my model, drove eight hours north and was relieved to find the pink lake I wanted to use for my shoot was in fact, pink.

    I only photograph women in the warmer months due to temperature, so a shoot will often be planned months in advance, but due to the nature of what I do and reacting to the environment around you, strategic planning can only take you so far, then it becomes a highly improvised race against time, light, tides and weather. Location recces are often impossible due to distances, and as waterways are often always changing, a particular place can appear dramatically different depending on the time of day and season.

    I don’t use assistants, so my locations need to be accessible to be able to carry heavy gear and ladders myself and be discreet from onlookers as much as possible.

    Whether constantly worrying and watching the sky and trying to predict the next break in the clouds, to tracking the tides, to timing when to put a model in the water knowing she will soon start to freeze, a lot of it comes down to embracing the unpredictability and anxiety of the unknown.

    I’m often standing on top of a ladder in the water to be able to shoot overhead, so there needs to be a high enough sandbank so that I don’t fall in the water or have my ladder sink into the sand which can cause instability or movement. Another important factor is to always keep a lookout for men who may have spotted my nude model and are watching or approaching us, as we need to be able to stop shooting and cover her up within seconds to avoid confrontation or potential danger.

    I have had to learn to be accepting and patient for the inevitable problems and interruptions and to find ways to be flexible and come up with last-minute plan B’s, because there will always be disappointments out there, and when you’ve only got so many hours in a few days to make a whole body of work, there is no time for crying sessions, that can be done when I get home.

    Tell us about your process and the experience of the shooting process for this series. Where did you make the work?

    I returned to the magical Tidal River on Yiruk Wamoon, the land of the Boonwurrung, Bunurong and Gunaikurnai people, the same place I had photographed my 2021 series Orpheus. The river runs into the bay, swells with the tide and has a fascinating range of colours, purple-yellow and emerald, which had worked beautifully for the Orpheus images. However, I arrived to find this year that the rising tide had created a singularly enchanting sandy whirlpool I’d never seen here before, which was very different to what I had envisioned, but just as magical, maybe even more so.

    I was horrified to realise on the day we arrived, that I had unintentionally booked Australia Day weekend, and the beach was packed. I was in shock flooded with anxiety and didn’t sleep at all the first night. With a large amount of dread, we started shooting the next morning. I was getting the sense that there were a lot of people behind me and that my models were on full display, even though they were covered in fabrics and very discreet. I didn’t dare turn around, focusing on what I had to get done. Eventually, I realised that I had a large audience full of disgruntled expressions. Soon after I was advised by a park ranger that I had been reported for nudity by a white male, as we were ‘making him feel uncomfortable’. I panicked, this was the place I had been planning to use over the next three days. With no time to have a meltdown, we headed to Darby Beach whilst the sun was still out. The next day was a write-off, and we returned to the Tidal River early Monday morning when all the tourists had gone home.

    That morning, it was so beautiful observing the fearless brave energy of these women as they dived into the water with a sense of joy and freedom, even when they had such little control in the strong undercurrent. Unable to hold a pose, I would yell out ‘Just let go!’ and watch them helplessly being sucked into the eye of the whirlpool, their luminous limbs gracefully flinging about. I watched in awe of their playful bodies and interaction in this wild water in which I had placed them. The Goddess-like figures submerging and reemerging were almost ritualistic. The dramatic watery clouds looked so alive in this dreamlike, ethereal playground. The sun was beautifully peering through the clouds that morning, creating a soft shard of light that brought them an angelic-like glow.

    How do you source the locations and models for your photographs?

    I love Wilsons Promontory, I have spent quite some time there. The Orpheus series had been inspiring, so I wanted to return, this time with multiple subjects. For the first time, I put a call out on my Instagram and was overwhelmed with the number of women wanting to be a part of the photoshoots, it was so wonderful, though I think a lot of volunteers became less interested as they realised the challenging conditions in which we would be working. In the end, I chose subjects who had a lot of experience in water and were willing to deal with public nudity, being cold for an extended time, claustrophobia and the physical challenges of being somewhat trapped in the fabric under moving water and then camping conditions in the middle of summer and all the rest that goes with making the work that I make. It’s not glamorous, it's hard work that requires high amounts of energy for many days in a row and a certain vulnerability to do the incredible work that they do, and not everyone can do that.

    Do you have an idea of the image you’re trying to capture before the shoot or is it more during the practice?

    I am certainly holding inspiration from paintings, ancient art, and sculptures that I have found to be influential for an upcoming body of work, knowing that what is created out there, in reality, will never be what I have envisioned. Nature always chooses. I pick the destination based on what I think or know is there, but it is never what I thought it would be, or it has changed, or it is more or less than I had imagined. This is the beauty of working with the power of nature, it feeds you unpredictable, magical and mysterious energy, which can never again be recreated, or even expected to be the same again. Being out there for multiple days in a row and immersed in the place helps me to enter a deeper, more focused frame of mind and forces me to take more risks. Often these risks can create more powerful and unexpected photographs, where they take on a life of their own.

    How collaborative are you with your subjects?

    My photo shoots are very much a collaborative process with my subjects. I like to represent a strong female figure, one that holds themselves confidently, honestly and vulnerably, within nature. I find myself curious, in awe of their bodies and how they interact and engage with the environments in which I place them. How they traverse up a rocky hill covered in sharp stones, manoeuvre around a slippery rock on the edge of a waterfall, or how their luminous limbs gracefully fling about inside a strong tidal river current, powerless to hold a pose. I want to capture their resilience, fierceness, depth and their beauty in all its forms.






       
      


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        Hunter & Folk Interview 2023    
         August 24th, 2023    
       
    A huge thank you to Hande at Hunter & Folk for the interview on my upcoming solo exhibition 'Pay Attention to the Heavens' opening 30th August at Curatorial & Co. Gallery, Sydney. 



    H&F: Hi Lilli, what led you to where you are today – what has been your trajectory as a photographer?

    Lilli: My journey has been shaped by a combination of my passion for photographing women and my connection to the natural world. In my late twenties, I became fascinated by the power of taking portraits of women, mostly friends, or friends of friends, which was basically me nding a voice I hadn’t used before, a way to tell stories and use photography as a way to express emotions. As I honed my skills and expanded my vision, I immersed myself in Australian landscapes, photographing the female form in a variety of environments and experimenting with different light and techniques. Over the past twelve years, I’ve been on a bit of a quest of self-discovery, rening my eye and my craft, pushing my boundaries and seeking new inspiration for every new body of work. This relentless desire for growth and the support of mentors and peers has been crucial in my development as an artist.

    Do you think your upbringing in the rural community of Wytaliba in NSW has played a big part in the influence behind your work today?

    My first few years living in a hippy commune provided me with a deep appreciation for nature's beauty and a profound connection to the land. Living in a mud brick house in the bush, swimming and bathing in the rivers, the serene landscapes, and the simplicity of that kind of o-the-grid lifestyle seems to have profoundly influenced and informed my art practice. This upbringing instilled in me a sense of wonder and endless curiosity and love for the natural world, which often finds its way into my work. The rawness and beauty of nature constantly inspires and allows me to capture its ethereal and magical qualities, and has instilled in me a deep appreciation for the delicate balance and harmony that exists when we embrace the environment as an inherent part of who we are.

    As an artist, what’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way?

    One of the most important lessons I've learned as an artist is to trust my creative instincts and embrace vulnerability, even when the doubts and dreads creep in, and they always will. I've learned that taking risks, pushing boundaries, being open to experimentation, and sometimes learning to sit in heavy amounts of discomfort and anxiety whilst making the work can often lead to interesting and transformative artistic expressions.

    When did you first understand art and design as a form of expression?

    I feel like most small children understand art as a form of expression and are drawn to making and creating. We often lose this, but when I look back there was always a thread for me, my mother creating art around the house, then dance, and music, to stumbling across Renaissance art books in high school then falling in love with photography. A solo trip to Europe at 24yrs seeing paintings and sculptures up close affected me in a big way, and this also coincided with my first time engaging with photography and embracing it as a form of expression, I became obsessed with the way the masterpieces capture human emotions using the interplay of light and shadow, rich vibrant alive colours and exceptional attention to detail. This is something that I try to embrace in my own work.

    What drives your creativity?

    My creativity is driven by a constant curiosity and desire to capture the intangible aspects of the human experience. I have always had a longing to explore the intricate layers of existence and translate them into visual poetry and use a language when I don’t have the words to express it. I’m fascinated by the myriad of emotions and connections that exist beneath the surface, and exploring the depths of these experiences, the vulnerability of the human form, or the timeless beauty found in nature, truly feeds my soul. The never-ending quest to evoke emotions, inspire introspection, and provoke a sense of wonder is what drives me to try to create meaningful and captivating photographs.

    Tell us a little about your process...

    Each final work I create is a dance between strategic planning and the spontaneous nature of reacting to the environment, whether that be weather, light, the subjects themselves, or the way fabrics react to light and water. It begins with a feeling I want to convey, and from there, after months of research and gathering inspiration from various sources such as music, art and paintings, the moment arrives. Out there, it’s a bit of a hot mess, I don’t use assistants, so it’s just me on a ladder often in the water, trying not to sink in the sand and fall in with my camera. I have to make decisions quickly, such as considering the best time of day to shoot - for light, to avoid tourists and high or low tides, praying the sun will appear or go away when desired, choosing the best composition, and where to place the subjects within the scene. During post-production, I heavily manipulate the final images to achieve my desired moody and ethereal quality, cutting and pasting subjects into the landscapes to create the desired composition. A final image will often be a blend of several combined images which fit together like pieces of a puzzle. I consider this process just as creative and vital as the photo shoot.

    Your upcoming exhibition, Pay Attention to the Heavens, at Curatorial & Co. empowers the female and is a portrayal of femininity that celebrates the contemporary woman. Why do these themes resonate so strongly for you?

    These themes are an embodiment of the multifaceted nature of women, and I believe in the power of celebrating and honouring the diversity and strength of women. The portrayal of femininity in contemporary society is often limited or distorted by societal expectations and stereotypes, even still in 2023. Through my work, I aim to challenge these norms and present a more expansive and authentic representation of women. I want to capture their resilience, erceness, depth and their beauty in all its forms. By empowering women through my art, I hope to inspire a sense of self-acceptance, confidence, and appreciation for the inherent power that resides within us. When I’m an old lady, I hope to be able to look back and have made work that is a tribute to the resilience and grace of women and a call to embrace our true selves.

    Your photographs have an ethereal quality and could be mistaken for Renaissance paintings. How do you achieve this quality in your work?

    Well thank you, this is a true compliment as I do draw inspiration from the timeless elegance and transcendent qualities often found in Renaissance paintings. The ethereal quality is achieved through a combination of composition, lighting, and heavy manipulation throughout the post-processing stages. By utilising natural light at certain times of the day, I am searching for a certain magical dreamlike atmosphere. This style resonates with me because it allows me to oat above the confines of reality and create a visual language that feels otherwordly, the unearthly and the ethereal, inviting viewers to engage in a realm where imagination and beauty intertwine.

    Your latest work features layers including soft pale skin, sparkling water, and gold-embellished fabrics. Why was it so important for you to have all these different layers in your work?

    By layering and combining these elements, I aim to create a visual tapestry that invites viewers to explore the complexity and richness of these figures and their worlds. Pale skin jewelled in shining beads, the use of gold-embellished fabrics symbolising both strength and beauty, softness and fragility of the female. Metallic bronze is reminiscent of the noble metals of ancient warriors’ armour, or a flame-like deity floating above an ember-filled sky. Dishevelled red hair trails through ominous waters like raging blooms of algae, and long locks appear like a plume of black smoke symbolising untethered femininity, powerful and dangerous. Their golden veil and winged garments, a shroud, entangling their bodies, and evocative gestures of their hands suggest empowerment, rather than being bound. Together these elements create a tapestry of narratives, revealing the depth and richness of the female spirit.

    What/who has been the biggest influence behind your photographs?

    Numerous inuences have shaped my photographic style and vision. This series, in particular, was inspired by the Alexander McQueen exhibition at the NGV, myths and stories read to me in childhood, and the works of classical painters, such as Botticelli and Caravaggio. Beyond artists, the natural world itself serves as a constant source of inspiration, as its beauty and complexity never cease to captivate me.

    What do you love most about what you do?

    I love the ability to create moments and visual narratives that resonate with a feeling I am searching for. The power to evoke emotions and ignite the imagination is immensely gratifying. The opportunity to connect and collaborate with my subjects, and witness the way they interact with nature is truly rewarding. Photography allows me to express my perspective and share it with the world, and that is a gift I treasure deeply.

    What are you looking forward to most this year?

    This year has been mainly focused on creating the final eleven works for my solo exhibition, Pay Attention to the Heavens’. If you’re in Sydney, please come along to the opening night and drinks (details below) all are welcome! Moving images from this series are also showing at Sydney Contemporary at Carriageworks, from September 7. 



    ‘Pay Attention to the Heavens’

    Curatorial & Co. Shop G01/02, 80 William Street Woolloomooloo, NSW

    Exhibition dates: Wednesday August 30 – September 16 Opening Night: Wednesday 30, 5pm – 8pm. All welcome!





       
      

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        Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks 2023 2023    
         August 4th, 2023    
       
    ❤️‍🔥 HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT ❤️‍🔥

    I am thrilled to announce that I will be showing selected moving image works from my upcoming solo exhibition ‘Pay Attention to the Heavens’ at @sydneycontemporary @carriageworks from 7-10th September.

    I will be joined by three other incredible artists @isabelledekleine @katebanazi @tiarna.herczeg represented by @curatorialandco

    See you there Sydney 💋

    Sydney Contemporary Carriageworks 7-10th September



       
     

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        Announced: Solo Exhibition 'Pay Attention to the Heavens' 2023    
         August 1st, 2023    
       
    I’m very excited to announce my upcoming Solo Exhibition ‘Pay Attention to the Heavens’ opening in Sydney at Curatorial & Co. gallery @curatorialandco

    You are invited:

  • Opening Night
    Please join us for a drink
    Wednesday 30th August 5-8pm 🥂

  • 30th August - 16th September
    Curatorial & Co. Gallery
    Shop G01/02, 80 William St
    Woolloomooloo (cnr Riley St)
    Sydney

    Moving image work also showing at:
    Sydney Contemporary
    Carriageworks, Sydney
    7 - 10th September

  • For an invitation, please subscribe to my mailing list via the link.



       
     

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        Artist in Residence for Assembly Label    
        March 8th, 2023    
       
    Thank you so much to @assemblylabel for having me as Artist in Residence for International Women’s Day. What an honour. Thank you @lindyl_ 

    My interview with Assembly Label is live: https://assemblylabel.com/blogs/journal/artist-in-residence-lilli-waters

    My work ‘The Road Before’ will be on display at the Fitzroy store until the 15th of March.

    Beautiful photos by @tashatylee

     

  • ART & DESIGN

    • Artist in Residence: Lilli Waters



  • International Women’s Day is a day of celebration, reflection and action, and on March 8 we come together to recognise the achievements of women, to address the barriers that perpetuate gender inequality and to amplify women’s voices and visibility. Assembly Label takes pride in extolling the work of women in our community and this month we are honoured to welcome artists Caroline Walls and Lilli Waters to our Artist in Residence series. Working across different media, both Caroline and Lilli are interested in representing female bodies and capturing experiences of womanhood in intimate ways, and their work is on display in Melbourne stores this March.

    “My language is a visual, sensual one, and a camera is a medium with which I bring ideas to life.” In a few words, fine art photographer Lilli Waters renders a portrait of herself as a woman with the power to turn threads of imagination into evocative images; a woman with her own language. “When I make art, I feel like it’s the closest thing to reaching the divine,” says Lilli. “It’s like sitting in a pool of pure liquid gold in my mind, my happiest of places. It makes me feel ecstatic to be alive and my brain starts firing like lit-up fireflies. It’s a deliriously euphoric place to live.”

    Born in a counter-culture community in Wytaliba NSW, Lilli’s early home was a place where nature had a vivid presence in daily life. “Everything I have lived through comes out in my work in one way or another, so in that sense I consider it autobiographical,” she says. Her rural upbringing planted the seed for themes Lilli would go on to submerge her work in. One theme is water, which Lilli has always been drawn to and which manifests itself in underwater still life collections and photographs of female figures floating or wading in rivers and pools, like ethereal Pre-Raphaelite models. “I assume this is because I swam and bathed in the river in the bush on a daily basis as a child — we had no running water or electricity. Often, I wake yearning to be close to flowing water where I feel most at home.”

    Another recurring theme, which recalls Lilli’s Artist in Residence work The Road Before, is the female form. Lilli’s large scale photographs immerse female figures in romantic and sometimes haunting landscapes that traverse remote Australian environments, yet are also redolent of mythical realms inhabited by goddesses condemned to live on earth. “Both the physical and emotional landscape of being a woman is all of these things — we are full of romance and desires, and yet our internal worlds often feel like navigating the unknown wilderness, with danger lurking out in the landscape,” explains Lilli. “My work offers a contrasting portrait of women, both strong and vulnerable. These women are in harmony with and thrive in their surroundings, they are nourished by them. It questions our relationship with nature, ourselves and ideas about female identity through unsettling, otherworldly scenes.”

    By offering a critical feminine gaze, which alludes to “the conundrum of being in a woman’s skin”, Lilli’s practice finds a way to express physical agency and ease in a society that objectifies women. The women Lilli represents are typically “strong, more curvaceous, fuller female figures” and she is interested in rethinking notions of beauty, bodies, power and vulnerability. Of her models she says, “These women contradict stereotypes of feminine frailty; they appear to be birthed into nature, or perhaps birthed from nature”. Rather than being helpless or exploited, they are heroic and offer an expansive expression of the feminine, and Lilli is the first to admit she is in awe of how their bodies interact with the environment she places them in.

    “My work offers a contrasting portrait of women, both strong and vulnerable. These women are in harmony with and thrive in their surroundings, they are nourished by them. It questions our relationship with nature, ourselves and ideas about female identity.”

    Where Lilli has power over how she portrays the female experience, it’s nature that shapes her landscapes. “I pick the route and the destination, but it is never what I thought it would be, or it is more than I imagined,” she says. “This is the beauty of working with the power of nature — it feeds you unpredictable, magical and mysterious energy, which can never be recreated.” Lilli’s need to capture evidence of her surrounds and turn the ephemeral into the forever stems from her childhood. “If I was witnessing a painfully beautiful sunset and there was no one around me who seemed as overwhelmed by this visual, I felt like it was a torturous waste. Hence I am now a photographer.” Lilli’s art practice is also tangled in family history and a childhood she describes as anxious, traumatic and abusive, and offers a way to lean into periods of darkness. “I come from a long line of strong women activists and environmentalists who suffered at the hands of men, and so if I am going to make work, it is important that it explores these themes and holds meaning for others when they look at my photographs. There is always some kind of beauty in the darkness… the darkness doesn’t have to be only the fear that comes with the human experience.”

    Over time, Lilli’s practice has established relationships not only with her subjects, but perhaps herself, too. “Photography allows me to express the vast and at times difficult emotional landscape in which I inhabit — beauty, pain, love, longing, angst, rage, fear, desire, dread, hope.” Photographing women in nature, she says, is a labour of love requiring a well of energy. “My relationship with my work is one of deep love and anxiety. Sometimes it feels like a passionate affair, other times I can’t stand the thought of it.” If shooting a photo series is the hurricane, the calm after the storm is Lilli’s time alone in the studio. In the post-production phase Lilli heavily manipulates her photographs in an almost meditative state, embodying all of the worlds she is trying to reach and create. This, says Lilli, is “the arousing and electrifying process of transcending images into their best light... to prepare them to be released into the world and have their own life”.

       
     

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    Finalist, Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2023    
    December 23, 2022    
       
    Honoured to have my work ‘The Next World’ announced as a finalist in the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art for 2023 @nillumbikarts    

    Finalists works will be exhibited at Monselvat Gallery, 7 Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham, from 20th April to 11th June, with opening night and announcement of the winners 20th April.    

    Congratulations to all of the finalists!    

    Have a happy Xmas & restful holiday everyone! I have some big exciting things happening for 2023 I can’t wait to share with you, bring on the new year    

    For interest in this work, contact @curatorialandco   
       
       
     

     



  • Beautiful Bizarre Interview, 2022    

  • December 8th 2022   
       
    Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize Winner Interview: Lilli Waters

    1. First off, how did you get started in photography?


  • It was a bit of an accident. I made short films in high school and was invited to go to a filmmaking school, but the class ended up being cancelled as not enough students were attending, so I continued on with the major subject which was photography. It was all dark room printing back then, no one I knew owned a digital camera. 

    2. Can you tell us more about the process behind your winning piece, Where Dreams Inhabit? What inspired the piece? How did you choose the title?


  • ‘Where Dreams Inhabit’ is from the series ‘Orpheus’. Offering a nuanced mix of hope and despair, promise and foreboding, this series of photographic vignettes was created during a lockdown reprieve in mid-2021, when Melbourne residents thought they were at last free from government restrictions. After the first few lockdowns, there was a small window of time where we were relatively Covid-free and life returned to some kind of normal. The ideas behind Orpheus emerged from a feeling of excitement, optimism and gratitude to be able to make work, be creative and get out in nature again. Being able to visit these incredible landscapes was a beautiful and surreal experience for me. The title came quite naturally, as this faceless female form reminded me of some kind of dark, beautiful & mysterious dream. 

    3. Your work is soft, feminine, beautiful, alluring—yet, you contrast those qualities with darker elements to point to the complex issues facing women in the era of ‘Me Too’ and a world facing ecological crisis. What led you down this pathway artistically?


  • Whilst I am a lover of aesthetically beautiful fantasy imagery and strongly relate to the feminine, I am also a realist and feel strongly about issues facing how women are treated in society and mass environmental destruction. I come from a long line of strong women activists and environmentalists who suffered at the hands of men, and so if I am going to make work, for me, it is important to me that it explores these themes and holds some kind of message and meaning for others to consider when they look at these works. There is also always some kind of beauty in the darkness, this is something I have had to learn and lean into over the years, that the darkness doesn’t have to be only the fear & dread that comes with the human experience. 

    4. Can you take us through how you go about creating a new piece from start to finish? 


  • Whilst planning this body of work, I was unable to go to the shops to source new materials due to lockdowns. I dug the gold netted material out of my fabric box. It became the thread that tied both the female form and underwater still life images for Orpheus together. 

  • I planned a week-long trip to Wilsons Promontory National Park, southeast of Melbourne, during a window between lockdowns. My subject and I spent our days driving, scouting, waiting… then shooting, during the small windows of the right light. We would work at dawn, rising at 4am to venture out when there was no one else around. Then again at dusk when all the tourists had finally gone home.

  • I like to work intensely for many consecutive days, to fully immerse myself in the process. I find the combination of pushing my mind and body to the limit with no distractions and building momentum, takes the work to a different place. It helps me to enter a deeper, more focused frame of mind, which wouldn’t happen if I shot a day here or there.

  • Orpheus was the first time I was working with the ocean tides, so it added a whole extra layer of challenges, as we had to ensure we didn’t get trapped with camera equipment when the tide came in. 

  • I spent many months in post-production, working on the images and going through a series of test prints together with my printer, before the ten final large scale prints were hung for my solo exhibition in the gallery. 

    5. You use elements like fabric and hair to obscure certain features and draw attention to?. How do you select your props? What kind of processes do those go through to be ready for your photographs?

  • I am always collecting and searching for vintage fabrics, I either hire them or find them in op shops, or if I am looking for something specifically, I purchase them online. Wigs are often hired from my favourite costume shop. Being out in the bush without an assistant doesn’t allow for any steaming or organisation of any kind, so I pull things out whilst on location to see what will work best for that particular landscape. 

    6. Your work often draws on the stark contrast between darkness and light to draw attention to specific visual elements. What inspires that contrast?

  • Paintings are some of my biggest inspirations. I recall flipping through books on Monet, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and painters from the Pre-Raphaelite era like John William Waterhouse during my years at photography school, they have obviously left a visual imprint on me. The rich colours that emerge from the velvety blackness - the passionate reds, emerald greens, sapphire blues - the harmony and discord, beauty and decay found in so many masterpieces are themes I keep returning to. The atmosphere in my own work can often be both gloomy and tranquil, marbled skin luminous in the dark landscapes offers a contrasting portrait of women, both strong and vulnerable. 

    7. What do you hope viewers will see when they look at your work?

    My work touches on the fragility and acute vulnerability of our natural world and the devastating impact of humans on our planet. It also questions feminine stereotypes, allowing vulnerability, strength, power, myth, darkness and light to all co-exist. I hope that my work can be both a reminder of the magical beauty of nature and also point to an awakening from consumerism and capitalism.  We all need to reconnect with nature to be able to discover our true selves. I love this quote by Nina Simone: ‘You can’t help it. An artists’ duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times’.”

    8. In addition to your artistic focus on the divine feminine and complexities of feminine identity, you’re also an accomplished still life photographer. What inspires your work with objects?

    I get high on the huge old realist oil paintings in museums. It’s like a kind of time travel experiencing these images, so I guess it makes sense that my work leans into this timeless aesthetic. I love to ruminate on the beauty of old-world impressions of nature. I draw inspiration from paintings by the old Dutch masters that I have loved for years, many of these are images of flowers symbolising beauty, nobility and prosperity, which is a major influence in my still life work.

  • I’ve also been influenced by my mother, a botanical painter who hung paintings of flowers in my childhood home, and my grandmother who liked to collect precious found objects. My still life arrangements often at first appear to be beautifully arranged underwater scenes decorated with Rembrandt-esque blooms. But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice added pieces of litter that literally choke some of the floral arrangements, and the murky blackness that imparts a sense of loneliness. It’s a direct comment on consumerism, human darkness and the rampant quest for prosperity. Prosperity has typically been lauded as something to desire and celebrate, yet now more than ever, the unpleasant complexities of wealth and indulgence are apparent. We nonchalantly poison the environment in pursuit of it.

    9. Is there any image in your repertoire that holds special meaning for you? What about that image do you connect with?

    I am not sure that I have a specific favourite image, I have a love-hate relationship with my work, some days I admire it, some days find it hard to connect to. Sometimes it can take me years to like a series. At the moment, I do actually love ‘Where Dreams Inhabit’, I love how the gold threads shimmers out from the darkness, how she looks like she has webbed-fingers, and the way the fabric makes it look like she has an old-world helmet of gold sparkles. 

    10. What equipment do you work with to craft your photos?

    I use a Canon Mark IV or 5DSR, a sturdy tripod, a stepladder, and a bunch of different lights to experiment with. 

    11. Do you have anything exciting planned for the future? What can our readers look forward to seeing from you next?

    I am about to embark on creating a new photographic series for a Solo Exhibition opening in Sydney in 2023. There may be some more exciting news coming soon but it’s still a secret! 

    12. What advice would you give to new artists who are just beginning in your medium?

    Shoot at every chance that you have and don’t look to other photographers for inspiration too much. Find your own voice. 

    13. Why did you enter the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize?

    I have entered the Beautiful Bizarre Magazine Art Prize for many years and have been fortunate enough to have been a finalist previously and had a feature and interview in the magazine. I am a huge supporter and fan of this art prize and thank them for supporting my work. 

    14. What do you feel you have gained from this experience?

    To have acknowledgement from this art community and be in the company of so many incredible artists is a great honour. Having my work exhibited at the Halycon Days exhibition at Modern Eden Gallery in California is so exciting!

    15. Would you recommend it and encourage others to enter? If so, why?

    I would highly recommend entering the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize, they have such a broad range of different artists and categories, with such a high standard of work and wonderful prizes.

       
       
     

  • Finalist, Julia Margaret Cameron Award, 2022    

  • November 14th 2022    
       
    I’m very honoured to be announced as a finalist for my photo series ‘Orpheus’ in the Fine Art Category for the 19th Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers.

    A huge thank you to judge Barbara Davidson @photospice and congratulations to all of the winners & finalists.

    Selected works from this series will be exhibited at @fotonostrum FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona in April-May of 2023.

       
       
     

  • Finalist, TACIT Still Life Award, 2022    

  • November 14th 2022    
       
    Thrilled to be announced a finalist in the TACIT Still Life Award for 2022 @tacitgalleries with three works from ‘Disenchantments of the World’ underwater series - Afterlife, Tulpenmanie and Passiflora Edulis. 

  • Opening Night of the finalist’s exhibition will be held on Saturday the 9th of December at @tacitgalleries 191-193 Johnston St, Collingwood. 

  • Thank you so much to the judges @tjbateson @davidcolespaintmaker @erikagofton 

  • The exhibition is on from the 9-24th December.

  •    
     
       
       
       
     

  • Finalist, Australian Photography Awards, 2022    

  • November 1st 2022    
       
    Thrilled to have my artwork 'Where Dreams Inhabit' awarded as a Finalist in the Australian Photography Awards for 2022.    
       
    The APA Finalists exhibition will be held at at Bodriggy Brewpub on the weekend of Friday 18th - Sunday 20th November.   
       
    245 Johnston St, Abbotsford VIC 
       
       
       
     

  •  

    Darlings Group Exhibition, Curatorial & Co. Gallery, Sydney
    October 25th 2022

    I'll be showing three new works, 'The Water Dream', 'The Veiled Woman III' and 'Thea', at the Darlings Group Exhibition at Curatorial & Co. Gallery in Redfern, Sydney, which opens in person & online on November the 30th.

    Show Open Day event: 12-4 pm, 3rd December. Show closes in person: 6th December. Show closes online: 3rd March 2023.





  • Winner 2nd Prize, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2022
    September 15, 2022

    I’m very honoured to announce that my work ‘Where Dreams Inhabit’ has won 2nd prize in the 2022 @beautifulbizarremagazine Art Prize Photography Award.

    A huge thank you to @danijelakrhapurssey and the judges, sponsors @INPRNT @poetsartists, @staticmedium @linktr.ee and a huge congratulations to all of the finalists.

    This work will be exhibited in the ‘Halcyon Days’ group show at @moderneden Gallery in San Francisco, California, from the 5th November to 3rd December, 2022.



  • Finalist, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2022
    August 16, 2022

    It is with much pleasure that ‘Where Dreams Inhabit’ from the Orpheus series has been chosen as one of the 25 INPRNT Photography Award Finalists of the 2022 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize. The People’s Choice Award voting opens on the 26th of August. A huge thank you to Photography Award sponsor @INPRNT and @beautifulbizarremagazine for the honour.



  • Finalist, Environmental Art & Design Prize 2022June 26, 2022

    I am honoured and proud to announce that ‘The Next World’ is one of 212 finalists selected from across Australia to exhibit in the annual Environmental Art & Design Prize Exhibition.

    The prize brings together a dynamic community of artists, designers, and audiences from across Australia who care deeply about our future on the planet.

    Finalists were selected from over 640 artists and designers from across Australia, who submitted works across nine categories.

    The exhibition runs across three Northern Beaches venues from Friday 5 August to Sunday 28 August. The exhibition entry is free.

    Prize winners will be announced on Friday 5 August at 6pm at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum, NSW.

    The People’s Choice Awards will be announced on 27 August.

    Thank you to the judges @michael.d.mossman @janetlaurence @kit_willow

    #BeachesArtDesignPrize @beachescouncil @magamnsw




  • IL FOTOGRAFO 336 I AM / IO SONO"
    June 20, 2022

    What an honour to be a part of IL FOTOGRAFO 336 “I AM / IO SONO”: through the gaze of the masters of photography and in search of beauty beyond stereotypes, between forms, cultures, genders, imperfection and authenticity.

    Giuseppe Mastromatteo, artist and Chief Creative Officer for Ogilvy, Italy, offers us a reflection on beauty “in the age of likes”. A beauty that is often numb. But true beauty, the one beyond stereotypes, disintegrates, shakes the soul, as shown by images by Lilli Waters.

    IL FOTOGRAPH 336 is available on newsstands in Italy or online via @il_fotografo_magazine

    Thank you so much to @silvia_carapellese

  • https://ilfotografo.it/






  • Finalist, Du Rietz Art Awards 2022
    June 12, 2022

    Very excited to announce that my work 'Tulpenmanie' has been selected as a finalist in the Du Rietz Art Awards for 2022. The Exhibition will take place at the Gympie Regional Gallery in Qld from 14th July to 26th August, with the official Opening and Award presentations on Friday 15th July at 6pm.




  • ORPHEUS Exhibition Curatorial & Co Gallery, Sydney
    May 20, 2022

    Last days to see the ORPHEUS Exhibition at Curatorial & Co. Gallery in Sydney.

    Opening Hours: Friday 9:30-5:30pm and Saturday 10-5pm.

    Studio 1/ 175 Cleveland Street, Redfern NSW

    Email: hello@curatorialandco.com

    Phone: +61 2 9318 1728





  • ORPHEUS in Sydney
    May 6th, 2022

    I am very excited to announce that the ‘Orpheus’ exhibition will be showing for two weeks at @curatorialandco gallery in Sydney this week, from the 9th until the 21st of May.

    Go take a look if you’re in in town 👀

    ‘Where Dreams Inhabit’ 100 x 150cm Archival pigment print on fibre rag Edition of 8 + 2AP

    Curatorial and Co. Gallery Studio 1, 175 Cleveland Street, Redfern, NSW

    HOURS: Monday-Friday 9.30am-5.30pm. Saturday 10am-5pm.

    Email: hello@curatorialandco.com

    Phone: +61 2 9318 1728






  • Finalist, Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize, 2022
    March 30, 2022

    I am incredibly honoured to have my work Tulpenmanie announced as a Finalist in the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize for 2022.

    The Opening Night and Announcement of Winners is Friday 13th May from 6-8:30pm at Ravenswood in the Centenary Centre, Gate 3, 10 Henry Street, Gordon NSW.

    Thank you so much to all of the judges for this honour and I cannot wait to see all of the incredible artworks by the incredible women finalists from around the Country.

    Thank you so much to @rawartprize for giving women a platform to express their voices through art.






  • Finalist, Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, 2022
    March 8, 2022

    I'm very very thrilled to announce that my work 'Last Days' has been announced as a Finalist in the Percival Photographic Portrait Prize for 2022.

    The finalists exhibition will be held at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in QLD, from the 23rd of April to the 3rd of July.



  •  

    Interview for The Style Curator on the ORPHEUS Exhibition
    February 18th, 2022

    Lilli Waters is a photography artist whose works are filled with intrigue and mystery. 

  • Lilli’s latest project ORPHEUS, is an immersive experience which combines the female form and underwater still life imagery.We chat with this incredibly talented artist about the ideas and magic behind her works and discover that one of her pieces ended up in Christian Grey’s apartment. Yep, we’re talking 50 Shades of Grey.

    With her dark colour palette paired with an exceptional eye and talent for capturing perfect light, the story behind the ORPHEUS collection is nothing short of extraordinary.

  • “ORPHEUS is made up of images of the female form which were photographed in nature battling the elements,” explains Lilli. “To capture the images of the female form, I planned a week-long trip to Wilsons Promontory National Park, southeast of Melbourne. My subject and I spent our days driving, scouting, waiting… then shooting, during the small windows of the right light.“We would work at dawn, rising at 4am to venture out when there was no one else around. Then again at dusk when all the tourists had finally gone home.

  • “I like to work intensely for many consecutive days, to fully immerse myself in the process. I find the combination of pushing my mind and body to the limit with no distractions and building momentum, takes the work to a different place. It helps me create a deeper, more focused place which wouldn’t happen if I shot a day here or there.

  • “ORPHEUS was the first time I was also working with the ocean tides. So it added a whole extra layer of challenges, as we had to ensure we didn’t get trapped when the tide came in. Camera gear and rising water don’t mix!

  • Trying to get the shot in between clouds and the many tourists while working with a nude model in very cold water, was intensely challenging! It brought with it many moments of disheartenment and frustration.

  • “Many images were abandoned throughout the process (there always are). But in the end, the strongest work really made itself apparent and shone through.”

  • Shot during an arduous year full of lockdowns, ORPHEUS emerged as a thing of beauty during an intensely difficult time.“After the first few lockdowns in Melbourne, there was a small window of time where we were relatively Covid-free and life returned to some kind of normal.

    “The ideas behind ORPHEUS emerged from a feeling of excitement, optimism and gratitude to be able to make work, be creative and get out in nature again. Being able to visit these incredible landscapes was a beautiful and surreal experience,” says Lilli.

    “I really wanted to combine photographing the female form and still life underwater flowers to form the one body of work. It’s a theme I’ve been experimenting with for years now, but have never combined both into a series.

    “When planning this collection, I was unable to go to the shops to source new materials due to lockdowns. I dug the gold netted material out of my fabric box. It became the thread that tied both the female form and underwater still life images together.

    Sometimes a single object or piece of fabric can inspire a body of work to be led in a certain direction."To create the underwater still life images, Lilli used an intriguing process.“The still life’s involved creating intricate underwater vignettes that came to life in my living room,” explains Lilli.

    “I set up a large water tank in my house, adding different lights and using a disorderly, random system of bolts, wires, weights and fishing line. These helped hold the floral sculptures down and I then littered them with pieces of cellophane, beautiful fish and the same fabrics I used in the river.“The process couldn’t be more different to the female images! Although there is still the same search, looking for that feeling of magic in the work.”

    While one of Lilli’s works has appeared on the big screen as part of 50 Shades movie franchise, it’s seeing people fill galleries and being able to exhibit her works in person that brings her the greatest joy.“It was truly wonderful to see ORPHEUS finally come to life. To see my works printed in large-scale, beautifully framed and hung on the walls of the gallery space,” smiles Lilli.

    “After the show was postponed in 2021, I was incredibly relieved when opening night went ahead. It made me so happy to see so many faces and be able to hug people again after such a challenging time. I was proud that we had such a huge turnout. The gallery was a full house!

    “My hope is that ORPHEUS is able to bring some joy and beauty into peoples lives after such an arduous and overwhelming few of years.Mostly I’d like for people to feel what they feel. There is beauty. There is also deep melancholy, wonder, joy and grief.

    “We are living through an age where our lens on the world must constantly shift and refocus as new ideas, crises, social movements and the natural environment rapidly change. We require a level of poetic consciousness and presence to navigate this new world.”

    The ORPHEUS exhibition runs 2 — 26 February 2022 at Metro Gallery in Armadale. We hope you enjoyed uncovering the dark waterscapes and ethereal visuals captured by the wonderfully talented Lilli Waters. To discover Lilli’s full body of works, visit her website or explore her Instagram.







  • ORPHEUS showing at Metro Gallery 2-26th February
    February 4, 2022

    So much magic in one room ⭐️✨

    My heart is SO full ❤️❤️

    Thank you SO much to all of the wonderful people who came to the opening of my solo exhibition ORPHEUS last night, it was so incredibly special, the turnout was absolutely overwhelming!

    I have missed other human beings for so long & it filled me with so much joy to see a sea of so many faces, meet new people, see old friends & finally hug you!!!!

    I honestly couldn’t have asked for more. Thank You, you made it so special 🙏🏼❤️🥰

    A huge thanks to @metrogalleryau for hosting this extraordinary evening, to @icon.frames for doing such a spectacular flawless job with the framing of these works, to @thirdsfineartprinting for the always beautiful prints & to @jacobxc @camilleladdawan @sockbraddler @yeahnotbadm8 for helping iron out the last touches & for being there for me, it means a great deal to me 🙏🏼❤️

    ORPHEUS is showing at Metro Gallery until the 26th of February

    1214 High St, Armadale.

    For more information on this exhibition or to request a copy of the catalogue, please contact

    eugene@metrogallery.com.au

    +61 3 9500 8511

    Tue-Fri 10-5pm

    Sat 11-5pm











  • My Solo Exhibition ORPHEUS opens TONIGHT!!
    February 2, 2022

    Please join me at @metrogalleryau tonight for opening drinks from 6-8pm 🥂 Metro Gallery 1214 High St Armadale 🥂

    Orpheus features a series of 10 large-scale photographs and moving image artwork, which were elaborately constructed underwater using shells, fish and flowers, and the female form. The striking objects emerge from a dark waterscape, to create other-worldly ethereal visuals.

    Offering a nuanced mix of hope and despair, promise and foreboding, this series of photographic vignettes was created during a lockdown reprieve in mid-2021, when Melbourne residents thought they were at last free from government restrictions. While invoking a sense of entrapment, this series invites the viewer to move beyond the darkness and towards the light.

    Flowers emerging out of darkness, reminiscent of the Dutch masterpieces of the 17th century are a reminder of the transitory nature of everything. Floating alongside the blossoms are jewel-like creatures and shells, dramatically shrouded by golden nets and sheets of suffocating cellophane.

    “We are living through an age where our lens on the world must constantly shift and refocus as new ideas, crises, social movements and the natural environment rapidly change.

    A level of poetic consciousness is required to navigate this new world and at times hopeless landscape. Orpheus was a poet, a prophet and a musician in Greek mythology who at the end of his life worshipped no god but the sun.

    For these images, I wanted Orpheus to be a woman who is glistening oracle-like, asleep on a dark sandscape. The viewer is invited to embrace their own mortality and energy for change simultaneously. To dare to be one’s own illumination—like a transient point of light in a night sky.”

    A huge thank you to Libby & Brad at @icon.frames for their framing for this exhibition, this show would not have been possible without your generosity!

    A huge thank you to Tim from @thirdsfineartprinting ❤️

    Thank you @pompandsplendour for supplying the flowers 🌺

    ORPHEUS is showing until the 26th of February.

    For more information please contact eugene@metrogallery.com.au

    📷 @hilarywalkerphotography






  • ORPHEUS Interview with Hunter and Folk
    January 31, 2022

    Thank you so much to Hande from Hunter & Folk for the interview & feature on my upcoming Solo Exhibition ORPHEUS.

    Words by Hande Renshaw.

    Award-winning photographer Lilli Waters’ latest exhibition, Orpheus, was created between the space of two of the earlier Melbourne lockdowns.

    During this time, the city was relatively Covid-19 free and life seemed to go back to a certain type of normal, allowing an opportunity for the artist to get back to her photographic work, shooting in the natural environment.

    ‘It felt both liberating and strange to be able to leave the house, our 5km radius, and travel to outer Victoria to take photographs,' says Lilli, ‘trapped for so long in suburbia, nature had been deeply yearned for, and returning to landscapes and my creative playground was an overwhelmingly beautiful and surreal experience.’

    Orpheus, which will be held at Metro Gallery in Melbourne, emerged from a shifting worldview on life and art-making.

    ‘There is a kind of vibrancy, optimism and excitement imbued in this work, which came from a heightened sense of gratitude and a renewed appreciation and delight in nature,’ says Lilli.

    Orpheus features a series of 10 large-scale photographs and moving image artworks, which were elaborately constructed underwater using shells, fish and flowers, and the female form. The striking subjects emerge from a dark waterscape, to create an other-worldly ethereal visual.

    ‘The water still remains to be one of the most important parts of my life, it’s where I feel most happiest, free and childlike again. It’s the biggest healer in my life, like coming home to myself in a safe and intimate space. ‘

    Among the key works in the exhibition, flowers emerge out of the darkness. These works are reminiscent of the Dutch masterpieces of the 17th century and a reminder of the transitory nature of everything. Floating alongside the blossoms are jewel-like creatures and shells, dramatically shrouded by golden nets and sheets of suffocating cellophane.

    In this series, we also see the return of Lilli’s fascination with the female form, a constant in her photographic work.

    ‘I'm always looking to tap into a unique frequency with my work, that words can’t really ever capture for me. For me, the female form is a symbol of the human experience and the natural world; powerful, life-giving, vulnerable, desirable and deeply complex.’

    Orpheus will run from Wednesday 2nd February to Saturday 26th February at the Metro Gallery.  

  •  1214 High Street, Armadale, Melbourne

    ORPHEUS Opening Night Wednesday 2nd of February 6-8pm

    Link to the full interview here ~ https://hunterandfolk.com/journal/orpheus-lilli-waters




  •  

    ORPHEUS Solo Photography Exhibition: Metro Gallery, Melbourne
    January 19 2022

    You are invited to:

  • ORPHEUS

    Solo Photography Exhibition

    Opening Night: 
    Wednesday 2nd February
    6 - 8pm

  • Metro Gallery
    1214 High Street
    Armadale, VIC

    I am extremely excited to invite you to the opening of my new solo exhibition ORPHEUS.

    Orpheus features a series of 10 large-scale photographs and moving image artworks, which were elaborately constructed underwater using shells, fish and flowers, and the female form. The striking subjects emerge from a dark waterscape, to create an other-worldly ethereal visual.

    Offering a nuanced mix of hope and despair, promise and foreboding, this series of photographic vignettes was created during a lockdown reprieve in mid-2021, when Melbourne residents thought they were at last free from government restrictions. While evoking a sense of entrapment, this series also invites the viewer to move beyond the darkness and towards the light.

     Among the key works in the exhibition: Flowers emerge out of the darkness. These works are reminiscent of the Dutch masterpieces of the 17th century and a reminder of the transitory nature of everything. Floating alongside the blossoms are jewel-like creatures and shells, dramatically shrouded by golden nets and sheets of suffocating cellophane. 

    “We are living through an age where our lens on the world must constantly shift and refocus as new ideas, crises, social movements and the natural environment rapidly changes. 

    A level of poetic consciousness is required to navigate this complex new world andat-times hopeless landscape. Orpheus was a poet, a prophet and a musician in Greek mythology who at the end of his life worshipped no god but the sun. 

    For these images, I wanted Orpheus to be a woman who is glistening oracle-like, asleep on a dark sandscape. The viewer is invited to embrace their own mortality and energy for change simultaneously. To dare to be one’s own illumination—like a transient point of light in a night sky."

    Exhibition details:

    ORPHEUS is showing from the 2nd – 26th February

    Metro Gallery
    1214 High Street
    Armadale

    Entry is free

    Opening Night:
    Wednesday 2nd February
    6-8pm

    For a copy of the catalogue, more information on this exhibition or to enquire about these works, please contact:

    Metro Gallery
    T: 03 9500 8511 
    M: 0409 409 239
    A: 1214 High Street, Armadale
    E: eugene@metrogallery.com.au
    W: www.metrogallery.com.au 
    @metrogalleryau







  • ‘ORPHEUS’ Upcoming Solo Exhibition, Metro Gallery
    January 15, 2022

    Finally this is happening. It’s been a long wait & I absolutely can’t wait to show you my new body of work!

    Pre-sales are now open for my solo exhibition ORPHEUS opening in less than 3 weeks at Metro Gallery on Wednesday the 2nd of February from 6-8pm.

    I really hope you can find an escape from your long days in iso, join me for a drink & see what I’ve been working on for the past 12 months.

    To receive a copy of the catalogue featuring 10 new large-scale photographs and a moving image work, please contact Eugene at eugene@metrogallery.com.au

    Visit www.metrogallery.com.au for more information.

    If you can’t make the opening, the exhibition will be showing until the 26th of February.

    Metro Gallery
    1214 High St
    Armadale VIC

    info@metrogallery.com.au
    www.metrogallery.com.au
    @metrogalleryau

    'Deep Hours'
    2021
    75 x 50cm
    Edition of 8 + 2AP
    Archival pigment print on fibre rag


  • 2021




    Darlings Group Exhibition at Curatorial & Co. Gallery
    November 24 2021

    I will be exhibiting a new work ‘Inner World’ at the Curatorial & Co. 'Darlings' Group Exhibition.

    The show opens on the 9th of December and runs until the 19th of December.

    'Inner World'
    33.3 x 50cm
    Edition of 8 + 2AP
    Archival pigment print on fibre rag paper


    Curatorial & Co. Gallery Studio 1, 175 Cleveland Street Redfern. NSW 2016

    Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30pm Sat 10-5pm







  • Winner, Du Rietz Art Award, 2021
    August 5, 2021

    I am extremely surprised & honoured to have won the 2021 @gympieregionalgallery Du Reitz Art Award with my image ‘Last Days’.

    Thank you so much to Julie, Libby, the judges & everyone at @gympieregionalgallery for the honour.

    I am very excited to be putting the $5000 prize money towards my next upcoming solo exhibition opening in February 2022 at Metro gallery.

    For interest in this work, please contact @curatorialandco

    Last Days, Winner. Words by 2021 Judge Madeline Brewer -

    ‘It hard not to feel insignificant or overwhelmed when viewing this artwork. Last Days is a dramatic photograph, with the artist using contrast to skillfully balance hard and soft, sublime and insignificant, stoic and dynamic, ancient and young.

    With the figures surrounded by a monolithic rock formation, there is an overwhelming tension between the past and future. Through this photograph, the artist has expanded upon traditional notions of the ‘feminine’. The photographer’s gaze is critical, drawing upon elements of art history’s Romantic and Pre-Raphaelite depictions of the femme fatale. Rather than voyeuristic observations, the artist has depicted the two women in movement, imbuing them with a sense of agency and as the artist has stated: “strength, nonchalance and indomitability”.

    We are currently living in a state of significant and unpredictable social and environmental change. The artist has put forward a challenge to be critical, connected and sympathetic to each other and the environment that surrounds us.’






  • UPDATE on my upcoming Solo Exhibition***
    July 23, 2021

    Due to lockdown, my solo show 'Orpheus' has now been postponed from this year to now open in February 2022.

    Whilst this means I have to wait a bit longer to share these new works with you, I am hopeful that we will all have access to vaccines well and truly before this year ends.

    I so look forward to seeing you all in a safe environment and being able to enjoy our art galleries again.

    Please subscribe to Metro gallery or my mailing list for updates. Presales open this October 2021.

    'Orpheus'
    2nd - 26th February 2022
    Metro Gallery
    1214 High St, Armadale, VIC








  • Lurzer's Archive Best 200 Ad Photographers Worldwide for 2021/2022
    July 23, 2021

    So surprised & honoured to be chosen as one of the Vienna’s Luerzer’s Archive Best 200 Ad Photographers Worldwide for 2021/2022!

    This image will be published in the 10th edition of the Luerzer’s Archive Special, coming out later this year.





  • Finalist, Naked & Nude Art Prize for 2021
    July 16th, 2021

    I am thrilled to have my work 'Extinct' selected as a finalist in the Naked & Nude Art Prize for 2021 at the Manning Regional Art Gallery.

    The winner of the 2021 Art Prize will receive $30,000 and the artwork will be acquired as part of the Gallery’s collection. The judge for the 2021 award is Wendy Sharpe, one of Australia’s leading Contemporary artists.

    The winner will be announced at the Gala Opening event on Saturday 28 August 6.30pm, and all finalists will receive one VIP ticket for the event.

    The People’s Choice voting will take place from Saturday 28 August until October 10 2021, giving both visitors and locals the chance to vote for their favourite artwork. The People’s Choice Award of $2000 will be announced on 11 October 2021.




  •  

    Finalist x 2 Du Rietz Art Awards, 2021
    June 24, 2021

    So incredibly honoured to have two of my images from 'Anthropocene: The Age of Humans' 2020 series, 'Angel' and 'Last Days', be announced as finalists in the Du Rietz Art Awards for 2021.

    The opening event and award presentations will take place on Friday 30 July at 6pm at Gympie Regional Gallery, QLD.

    Registrations are essential due to COVID-19 number restrictions. Please contact the Gallery on 07 54810733 to register or search on Eventfinda to book (available in the coming week).

    The exhibition is on view from 29 July - 3 September 2021. Entry is free.

    Gympie Regional Gallery39 Nash Street, Gympie Qld

    www.gympie.qld.gov.au





  • Finalist, Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art, 2021
    April 13th, 2021






  • Finalist, Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize 2021
    April 13th, 2021

    Super happy to learn today that 'Last Days' has been listed as a finalist in the 2021 Ravenswood Australian Women's Art Prize for 2021. Thank you so much @rawartprize Congratulations to all of the super talented finalists. 






  • Flora Exhibition at Heritage Hill
    March 11, 2021

    I'm very honoured to be a part of the Flora Exhibition at Heritage Hill, opening on Saturday the 27th of March. 

    Please note: due to COVID and ensuring that we remain COVIDsafe, bookings will most likely be required for the opening. Further information can be found at https://www.greaterdandenong.vic.gov.au/flora.

    Enjoy two exhibitions at this unique historic site.

    Celebrating the creativity and talent of artists from across Australia, Benga House hosts an open-entry exhibition featuring over 150 works that explore the theme of flora.

    A selection of artwork from the ‘Painting on the Hill’ art competition, held in the 1990s and early 2000s, will also be on display in Benga House as part of ‘Inspiration on the Hill’. Don’t forget to enjoy the flowers in the beautiful gardens.

    View the opening hours of Heritage Hill Museum and Historic Gardens.

     Image credit: Georgia Szmerling, National Park Wildflower, Manitoba Canada Bay Coast, detail, 2017, acrylic on paper, 50 x 70 cm, GS17-0006, represented by Arts Project Australia, Melbourne. 






  • Cover of Real Living Magazine, Feb issue
    January 28, 2021

    What an honour to be featured on the cover of Real Living Magazine this month!

    'Worldy Desire'

    2020

    100 x 150cm

    Archival pigment print on fibre rag

    Edition of 8 + 2AP

    A huge huge thank you to Soph at Curatorial & Co. Gallery, Lisa Burden and Real Living Magazine.


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  •  



  • Art in the Plague Year Exhibition, UCR Arts, California Museum of Photography
    January 12, 2021

    I am so honoured to have images from my ‘Friends on Film’ 2020 iso series in the ‘Art in the Plague Year’ photography exhibition at the California Museum of Photography, with 274 works by 55 artists from 12 countries.


    Visit https://www.artintheplagueyear.com/Lilli-Waters


    Thank you so much to Senior Curator Douglas McCulloh for seeing something in my work from this strange time.



  •  

    Belle Magazine
    November 20, 2020

    Thank you so much to Belle Magazine for featuring 'Disenchantments of the World'. 



  •  

    Contemporary Art Collectors Interview & Feature
    January 25th, 2021

    Thank you so much to curator Vera Bertran from Contemporary Art Collectors for the interview and for featuring my work as part of the Emerging Artist Programme.

    https://www.contemporary-art-collectors.com/.../lilli-waters





  • Shortlisted, Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2021
    January 5, 2021

    I am very pleased to announce that my work ‘Last Days’ 2020 is a finalist in the 2021 Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art. The work will be exhibited at Montsalvat’s Barn Gallery, 7 Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham, from Thursday 6 May to Thursday 1 July 2021.



  • 2020




  • QT Melbourne & 'Disenchantment of the World'
    December 10, 2020



  • So happy to visit QT in Melbourne today to see my moving image ‘Disenchantment of the World’ piece on the wall of the foyer!

    A huge thank you to QT Hotels, Nic Graham & Sophie from Curatorial & Co. gallery for making this happen, what a very special honour to have my very first public artwork installed. 

    You can now sit & watch these fish swim at the Melbourne QT hotel & forget all about travel restrictions!

    For interest in this artwork, please contact Curatorial+Co. www.curatorialandco.com 



  • ‘Disenchantment of the World’ moving image

  • 52 seconds (loop)

  • Edition of 3


    •    




  • Darlings Summer Group Exhibition, Curatorial & Co. gallery
    December 10, 2020

    So happy to have a new piece in the summer group exhibition 'Darlings' at Curatorial & Co. gallery, Redfern, NSW. 9-17 December 2020


    •    




  • Shortlisted x 3, Australian Photography Awards 2020
    December 10, 2020

    Thank you to the Australian Photography Awards for shortlisting 3 images from my ‘Friends on Film’ and ‘The Kiss of Death’ series in the Portrait Category for 2020.


    •    



  • Hunter & Folk features ‘Disenchantments of the World’ solo exhibition
    November 22, 2020

    Thank you so much to the lovely Hande from Hunter & Folk for featuring ‘Disenchantments of the World’ solo exhibition!

    See the full feature here



    Lilli Waters | Disenchantments of the World
    Photography or Renaissance painting? The lines are blurred with Lilli Waters’ latest captivating and ethereal collection.
    Words by Hande Renshaw

    Award-winning photographer Lilli Waters’ latest exhibition Disenchantments of the World explores the decadence and disillusions of contemporary living, examining how humans treat the natural environment.

    The moody series of still-life photographs and short films is intensely evocative; it’s like walking through a Rembrandt painting.

    Each large-scale print features fish and crabs, with flowers and fruit suspended in the velvety dark water, juxtaposed by entwined sheets of bright blue g(littering) ribbons of plastic.

    Each photograph depicts the fragility of the natural world and its uncertainties, directing attention to its impermanence and reflecting on how humans treat the environment in pursuit of prosperity.

    This interplay of beauty and darkness is something Waters achieves masterfully in this series.

    “Some of the works are almost surreally pristine and pure, though a closer look reveals subtle plastic elements that are ubiquitous in this throwaway world and point to an unease,” she says. “In other images, flowers are enveloped by dark and ominous black oil spills and a sense of decay.”

    The exhibition is on at Curatorial + Co. gallery until the 28 November - bookings are essential.







  • Thank You So Much!
    November 19, 2020

    A huge massive THANK YOU to those who attended the opening launch, tuned into the live session & sent me such beautiful messages of support for the ‘Disenchantments of the World’ solo exhibition, your support means the absolute world to me!

    This exhibition is now showing at @curatorialandco gallery, Redfern, NSW, until the 28th of November. Book your visit here 

    A series of 6 major new still life works and 5 moving images works are on show. View catalogue here 

    To book a visit to the exhibition, view the catalogue or for interest in these works, please contact Sophie Vander at hello@curatorialandco.com or visit www.curatorialandco.com

    Gallery hours Mon-Sat 10am-5pm

    Photos by Pablo Viega 


  • This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.



  •


  • The Design Files - The Design Files - These Moody Contemporary Photographs Look Like Renaissance Paintings!

    Thank you so much to The Design Files for the feature on the ‘Disenchantments of the World’ exhibition, currently showing at Curatorial & Co. gallery from the 18-28th of November.

    Contact www.curatorialandco.com to arrange a visit, RSVP essential. 


  • November 18, 2020

    These Moody Contemporary Photographs Look Like Renaissance Paintings!

    A new exhibition of underwater photographs from artist Lilli Waters depicts the hypnotic beauty of flowers in bloom.

    A new solo exhibition from photographic artist Lilli Waters sees her large-scale photographic works explore the decadence and disillusions of the contemporary world.

    Drawing inspiration from the Dutch painting masters of the 1600s, Lilli’s contemporary lens finds the same moody, hypnotic earthly beauty these artists exuded on canvas. Think the Rembrandts hanging in the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands!

    Each frame sees flowers suspended in water cloaked in sheets of plastic and accompanied by fish, the delicate petals blossoming from the depths of velvety blackness. This scenery depicts the fragility of the natural world up against its might and uncertainty, and directs attention to its impermanence.

    Part exploration of a Renaissance-luxe aesthetic and part cultural commentary on our consumerist compulsions, Lilli’s majestic works are both elegant and thought-provoking.

    The exhibition is free but bookings are essential. See here for availability.

    ‘Disenchantments of the World’ An in-person exhibition of large-scale photographic works 18th – 28th of November Free Curatorial + Co. Gallery Studio 1, 175 Cleveland Street Redfern, NSW





  • Vogue Interview 'The Melbourne artist hiding darkness inside scenes of captivating beauty."
    November 17, 2020

    Thank you so much to Vogue Living and Curatorial & Co. for this beautiful feature on my upcoming 'Disenchantments of the World' solo exhibition today.

    Link to the full article here

    “I get high on the huge old realist oil paintings in museums – their painful beauty stirs me,” says Lilli Waters. “It’s like a kind of time travel experiencing these images, so I guess it makes sense that my work leans into this timeless aesthetic.”

    Like so many of us this year, the Australian artist is reflecting on a simpler time, when travel freedoms meant she could visit cultural icons like the Riijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and ruminate on the beauty of these old-world impressions of nature. In fact, the museum formed such an impression on Waters, that it formed the basis of Disenchantments of the World, a series of still-life photographs and short films exhibiting this week.

    “I drew inspiration from paintings by the old Dutch masters that I have loved for years and finally saw them in person [at] the Riijksmuseum,” explains the Armidale-born photographer, who cites “images of flowers symbolising beauty, nobility and prosperity and their impermanence” as a major influence in her latest work. She even directly references their composition: Tulpenmanie (top image) borrows from Abraham Mignon’s Still Life with Flowers in a Glass Vase, while Passiflora Edulis (above) mirrors Cornelis de Heem’s Festoon with Fruit and Flowers.

    “Paintings, more than photographs, are some of my biggest inspirations,” admits the Melbourne-based artist, who recalls “flipping through many books of the works of Monet, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and painters from the Pre-Raphaelite era like John William Waterhouse throughout my years at photography school.”

    They’re left an obvious visual imprint on Waters, too. “The rich colours that emerge from the velvety blackness - the passionate reds, emerald greens, sapphire blues and a woman's marble-like skin,” she says of their appeal. “The harmony and discord, beauty and decay found in so many masterpieces are themes I keep returning to.

    ”Nature also plays a recurring role in Waters’ work, and she mentions the influence of her botanical painter mother who hung paintings of flowers in her childhood home, and a grandmother who liked to collect “found beloved objects”. The notion of collecting has stuck with Waters, who likes to display “strange and wonderful things I find in nature” in glass bell jars, and use them in her work.

    In fact, you can trace the through-line of this idea in Disenchantments of the World, which at first appear to be beautifully arranged underwater scenes decorated with Rembrandt-esque blooms.

    But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice Waters has added pieces of litter that literally choke some of the floral arrangements, and the murky blackness that imparts a sense of loneliness.

    It’s a direct comment on consumerism, human darkness and the rampant quest for prosperity, explains Waters.

    “Prosperity has typically been lauded as something to desire and celebrate, yet now more than ever, the unpleasant complexities of wealth and indulgence are apparent,” she adds. “We nonchalantly poison the environment in pursuit of prosperity.”

    To underscore universality of this theme, Waters says the series also echoes “one of the earliest examples of consumerism and collective mania - the Dutch Tulip fever in the early 1600s.

    The exotic colouration of the most highly prized tulip during tulpenmanie was caused by a virus that infected the flower, leading to a buying hysteria.”

    While creating images of undeniable beauty and fragility, Waters was keen to comment on “the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures” and provoke a visceral response. “I like to believe that art can change people’s perspectives in a way talking or arguing can’t.”This play between beauty and darkness is something Waters achieves masterfully in this series.

    “Some of the works are almost surreally pristine and pure, though a closer look reveals subtle plastic elements that are ubiquitous in this throwaway world and point to an unease,” she says. “In other images flowers are enveloped by dark and ominous black oil spills and a sense of decay.”

    It’s a technique that lends her photographs their eerie, almost hyper-real nature. Her previous works often feature female forms submerged in bodies of water and sheathed in sheer fabric or still-lifes of marine life shot underwater with flowers.

    “I do try to blur the line of what's ‘real’, to make images that feel otherworldly and surreal,” she says. “While my photographs are not made up of other mediums, you could call them photo-collages, where I blend photographs together, guided by feeling and using Photoshop like a painter's brush.

    ”Like so many artists living through Covid-19, the particular harshness of Waters Melbourne lockdown gifted her a lot of time to ruminate and experiment. “After four months of working on these images and many sets of test prints later, I felt the images finally captured the richness, clarity and all the shades of black I had in my head,” she says.

    Setting up a large water tank in her living room, Waters used an “an intricate yet haphazard system of bolts, wire, weights and fishing line to hold the floral structures in place” to capture these underwater scenes, adding plastic, oil and pieces of fruit for effect.

    The resulting imagery captures a moment in time, a comment on the “fragility and acute vulnerability of our natural world and the devastating impact of humans on our oceans”.

    Describing the pandemic and excess consumption as a kind of fever, Waters hopes her work “can be both a reminder of the magical beauty of nature and also point to an awakening from this fever.”

    Arguing that we all need to reconnect with nature, her natural social conscience is one she bears proudly. “I love this quote by Nina Simone: ‘You can’t help it. An artists’ duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times’.

    ”Disenchantments of the World will be exhibited at Curatorial & Co. gallery in Redfern, NSW, from November 18-28. Opening night is Wednesday, November 18, from 5-8pm.

    Bookings essential, RSVP for hourly tours at curatorialandco.com or here



  •    






    • Modern Times Group Exhibition ‘Talismans, Rafts, Mementos’
    November 12th 2020

    I am very privileged to have two new works in the upcoming group exhibition ‘Talismans, Rafts, Mementos’ at @moderntimesau featuring 150+ new works by 56 amazing artists, opening online on Thursday the 19th of October at 7am.

    ‘Space Consciousness’ 2020 40 x 60cm Archival pigment print on fibre rag Edition of 8 + 2AP

    For interest in this work, get in touch with the lovely people at Modern Times | www.moderntimes.com.au

    Showroom + Gallery Modern Times 311 Smith St Fitzroy Victoria 3065

    (03) 9913 8598 | hello@moderntimes.com.au





  • Disenchantments of the World, Solo Exhibition, Curatorial & Co. Gallery
    5th November



    I am beyond excited to unveil my new solo exhibition ‘DISENCHANTMENTS OF THE WORLD’ Solo Exhibition Opening Wednesday the 18th of November, 5 - 8pm at Curatorial and Co. Gallery, Redfern, NSW.

    **OPENING NIGHT**
    WEDNESDAY 18TH NOVEMBER
    5 - 8PM
    CURATORIAL AND CO. GALLERY
    STUDIO 1, 175 CLEAVELAND STREET
    REDFERN, NSW


    ‘Disenchantments of the World’ displays a series of underwater still life works depicting of Rembrandt-esque floral images that explore the complexities of wealth and indulgence, and how humans treat the environment in pursuit of prosperity. A series of 6 major new works and looped short films will be shown in a pop-up cinema space within the gallery - Sydney Arts Guide.

    This new body of work is a contemporary exploration of human darkness, desire, and the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures.

    At first glance sumptuous floral blooms decorated with sea creatures and glistening effervescence emerge from velvety darkness. This series of underwater still lifes draws inspiration from paintings by the old Dutch masters - images of flowers symbolising beauty, nobility and prosperity and their impermanence. ‘Tulpenmanie’ references Abraham Mignon’s ‘Still Life with Flowers in a Glass Vase’, and ‘Passiflora Edulis’ references Cornelis de Heem’s ‘Festoon with Fruit and Flowers’.

    A closer gaze reveals a mash-up: luxe Rembrandt esque blooms are entwined with g(littering) plastic, and the darkness lends the images a lonely, eerie quality. Prosperity has typically been lauded as something to desire and celebrate, yet now more than ever, the unpleasant complexities of wealth and indulgence are apparent.

    Globally, we nonchalantly poison the environment in pursuit of prosperity.

    This series also references one of the earliest examples of consumerism and collective mania - the Dutch Tulip fever in the early 1600’s. The exotic coloration of the most highly prized tulip during tulpenmanie was caused by a virus that infected the flower, leading to a buying hysteria.

    ‘Disenchantments of the World’ is a contemporary exploration of human darkness, desire, and the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures.

    Visit from 18-28 November to view this new series of large-scale photographic works, and a series of three short films.

    Bookings essential. Hourly tours + RSVP only.

    BOOK HERE TO VISIT

    VIEW CATALOGUE

    For presales or interest in these works, please contact hello@curatorialandco.com | www.curatorialandco.com

    The exhibition runs until the 28th of November. 

  • This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.















  • Beautiful Bizarre Magazine feature and QandA issue 31 2020
    October 9th, 2020

    I’m very honoured to announce a 10 page feature and Q and A for issue 31 of @beautifulbizarremagazine coming out this December. I chat with co-founder @richardpurssey about my personal motivations, appreciation of what my artistic process and finished works mean to me as an artist, and what inspires me to keep making. A huge thank you to the wonderful @danijelakrhapurssey for seeing something in my work & for this beautiful feature. Issue 31 is now available for pre-order through the @beautifulbizarremagazine website. https://store.beautifulbizarre.net/product.../magazine/...




  • Shortlisted Top 20, Photo Oxford Festival 2020
    October 5, 2020

    I am very excited to announce that this image from ‘The Kiss of Death’ 2020 isolation series has been shortlisted in the top 20 at the Photo Oxford Festival. It will be included in the ‘Women and Photography: Ways of Seeing and Being Seen’ exhibition at OVADA gallery in Oxford, UK and for the online exhibition for the Photo Oxford festival, which will run from 16th October to 16th November.




  • Finalist, Fisher's Ghost Art Award 2020
    September 30, 2020

    So honoured to have 'Dark Matter' 2019 announced as a finalist in the Fisher's Ghost Art Award for 2020. Congratulations to all of the finalists! The exhibition will be held from Saturday 31 October - Friday 11 December 2020 at the Campbelltown Arts Centre, Campbelltown NSW. 




  • One of the 1000 images selected for the 'ICPConcerned Global Images for Global Crisis' exhibition as part of the International Center of Photography in New York City
    September 17, 2020

    I am so utterly surprised and honoured to have one of my images from my 'Friends on Film' 2020 series chosen as one of the 1000 images for the 'ICPConcerned Global Images for Global Crisis' exhibition as part of the International Center of Photography in New York City.

    On March 20, the International Center of Photography announced an open call for imagemakers around the world to post and tag imagery of their experiences as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded. Photojournalism and documentary pictures sit with staged and more metaphorical photographs. Amateur smartphone pictures are being uploaded alongside the work of professional imagemakers from around the world.

    A whole range of emotions are present: anger, despair, loss, confusion, frustration, boredom, loneliness, strength, and resolve.

    Then, on May 25, George Floyd, a Black man, was killed in Minneapolis by a white police officer and millions came out of isolation to gather in anger and defiance of centuries of systemic racism and white supremacy. Thousands of #ICPConcerned images of the demonstrations were uploaded and shared.

    Now, ICP has initiated an evolving #ICPConcerned exhibition One thousand images are being chosen by a wide range of ICP staff—curators, administrators, and educators. No one can visit yet, but the process and the installation are being documented and shown online, taking the images back to the worldwide audience that made them. Eventually, the returning public will be able to come see a visual account of this tumultuous era.

    Imagemakers represented in the show submitted work from the following locales: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

    https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/icpconcerned-global-images-for-global-crisis?fbclid=IwAR0phS1bF6MwlHj-k3BCt-1dTK3rD7s1iMivcBUbnUmVv4dZ_0UzJt-zlyU

    Friends on Film (2020)

    ‘Friends on Film is a portrait series documenting family and friends photographed on medium format film, after social distancing restrictions during Covid-19 were eased in the state of Victoria and people were permitted to visit friends in their homes whilst practicing social distancing.

    This series was inspired by isolation and the need for human connection and sharing of our own individual experiences of this strange time.

    For me, unable to work and having a newfound amount of time on my hands, I was unable to find purpose and joy in a bonding ritual by capturing these portraits.

    I am attempting to embrace what was an enforced slowing down and use this approach in my practice. I do this by using film and allocating only two rolls of film per person, a maximum of 20 photographs per sitting. Every shot is carefully considered, far removed from working in the digital realm where an ability to shoot endless images removes the risk but also the magic.

    The analog camera lens for me is a portal into a different way of seeing, a re-evaluation of how I feel about photography, which is ultimately just a way to connect with other humans.’



  • HERE WITH ME group exhibition, Curatorial & Co. gallery, Sydney
    August 19, 2020

    So honoured to be a part of the group exhibition and opening Sydney gallery launch of Curatorial & Co. 'HERE WITH ME'. HERE WITH ME is an expression of support in a time of uncertainty, celebrating the ways in which art can connect us, move us, inspire and protect us. As a virtual gallery that now extends into a physical space, HERE WITH ME comprises painting, drawing, photography and sculpture, and it can be experienced both online and up close. HERE WITH ME showcases over 40 new works by artists from all over the world and launches the new gallery in Redfern, Sydney. A huge congratulations to Sophie and the team, so proud of you, thank you for having me. Contact hello@curatorialandco.com Open 14-28th August. Studio 1, 175 Cleveland Street Redfern, NSW 2016 Australia 'The Fall' 60 x 85cm Archival pigment print on fibre rag Edition of 8 + 1AP For interest in this work, please contact hello@curatorialandco.com




  • Finalist, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
    August 19, 2020

    I'm so excited to announce that 'From Where We Came' has been chosen as one of the 25 Photography Award finalists of the 2020 Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize. A huge thank you to Danijela Krha Purssey and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine for your wonderful support and for including my work amongst such a high caliber of incredible artists, it is such an honour. Art prize sponsored by icanvas_art




  • Highly Commended, 2020 The Mono Awards
    August 18, 2020

    I'm thrilled to announce that 'Metamorphis' from the 'Others Dream' series has received a highly commended in The Mono Awards for 2020 in the People Category.




  • Finalist, Du Reitz Art Awards
    June 26th, 2020

    I’m very excited to announce that ‘From Where We Came’ from the series ‘Others Dream’ has been announced as a finalist in the 2020 Du Reitz Art Awards. Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions there will not be an opening event gathering this year. Instead, winners will be announced and published on the Gympie Regional Council website and social media after judging Wednesday 5 August. The exhibition is on view from 5 August – 5 September 2020. Entry is free.




  • ANTHROPOCENE: THE AGE OF HUMANS VIRTUAL SOLO EXHIBITION"
    June 9, 2020

    I am delighted to bring to you my latest body of work, ANTHROPOCENE: THE AGE OF HUMANS virtual solo show via Curatorial & Co.


    VIEW CATALOGUE

    VIEW VIRTUAL EXHIBITION


    THE MAKING OF

    To make this series, my muse and dear friend and I embarked on a five day road trip in January. We packed her 4WD to the brim with props & bags of fabric from op shops,and took off in search of utterly beautiful landscapes.

    With bushfires raging all across the country, our options were extremely limited, so based on a whim I decided to head towards the Murray-Sunset National Park, about seven hours from Melbourne. After a few days in the small town of Sea Lake we decided to abandon our original route and turn towards the more lush Grampian Ranges in search of water.

    These creative working trips, venturing into the Australian ‘wilderness’, are always a whirlwind of jumbled sensations; exhilaration, trepidation, pressure and exhaustion. Senses seem heightened, as things normally passed by, now have a weight of the possibility of becoming a hopefully powerful image. I question; does this vista draw me in with the promise of some elusive magic, or is it just the ordinary? Sometimes the lines are blurred.

    These days often feel like the longest of our lives. Rising at 3.30am eagerly anticipating the early morning light, we sit anxiously in the dark ready for the small window of magic glow before the sun peaks over the horizon. Long hours of driving between destinations are peppered with the odd side meander if the clouds are feeling generous, while always keeping the approaching last light of the day in mind. So we make haste in pursuit of dusk, smuggling some leftover cheap wine in with my cameras as we trek into the unfamiliar bush like pack horses, in search of a scene which feels like ‘something’ intuitively, like butterflies in your stomach. As we walk, we are aware of the gamble, that this could easily (and often does) result in failure.

    Working alone with natural light in the environment and a nude model can at times be overwhelming. The beauty of nature comes with its unpredictability, and so too, its tourists. It is also in, and because of these moments of frustration, battling high winds, sinking mud, incessant rain and all that goes wrong, that I feel a deep appreciation for that very moment, the power of nature, and the insignificance of humanity but also the joy of feeling alive and awake. This challenging work has meant that I have been witness to, and immersed in, such beautiful Australian landscapes, at times stark and eerie, lush and dense; these moments have been some of the most breathtaking and magical experiences of my life. Nature is my creative playground and where I feel most at home.


    ABOUT THE WORK

    For this series, I used lace for the first time in my work. I often source secondhand fabrics, but have been hesitant to use lace specifically, perhaps it was too old fashioned and laden with inherent meaning, but days before embarking on the five day road trip, I succumbed to my love for it.

    For me, lace represents romanticism, the feminine, a single thread of delicate beauty combined with the strength of many intertwining threads, and in many ways, symbolises the way in which I aim to represent the female figure, an honest beauty combined with strength. Lace has often been symbolic of modesty and obedience, of rites of passage, of fragility and chastity, but also debauchery. I am drawn to the idea of playing with and challenging stereotypical notions of the feminine.

    Hair is another fascination as a veil, a protective layer, magical and possibly dangerous, often symbolically depicted with an ability to communicate social meaning; associations of blonde hair with purity and dark hair with passion, historically hair has been a tool to measure sanity. Unkempt hair as a symbol of chaos and immorality, unbridled, unhinged sexuality. Hair for me also conjures up the dark and mysterious fairy tales we all grew up being shaped by, women who needed a prince to rescue them, but also ancient legends of powerful queens and mysterious women often forgotten by a history mostly written by men.


    ARTIST STATEMENT

    Depicting the female form in landscapes that are eerie and post-apocalyptic in their starkness - rough-hewn incarnations of the Garden of Eden - this series draws inspiration from biblical narratives of creation and the Fall of man (woman). The marble skin of these figures, luminous in dark, uninhabited landscapes conjure images from myths and fairy-tales that allude to a state of innocence and wonder.

    Yet while the Fall was characterised by torment and shame, a loss of grace, the presence of the women in these untamed landscapes has a dream-like ambiguity. Rather than being helpless, or in need of protection, the women offer a more expansive expression of the feminine: beauty combined with strength, nonchalance and indomitability.

    In the Anthropocene epoch, there is a profound disconnect with nature, yet these images situate humans within nature - cocooned, in sensuous repose and unfurling into a state of awareness with the possibility for communion with nature.





  • “Anthropocene: The Age of Humans” Virtual Solo Photography Exhibition
    June 9th 2020

    “Anthropocene: The Age of Humans” will open at 9am on the 9th of June via Curatorial & Co. For a copy of the catalogue or for interest in the works, please contact hello@curatorialandco.com




  • Finalist, Percival Photographic Portrait Prize
    March 26, 2020

    Very excited to announce that my work ‘From Where We Came’ has been selected as a finalist in the 2020 Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, held at Perc Tucker Regional Gallery in QLD from Friday 22 May until Sunday 19th July 2020.




  • Finalist, Biennal Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize
    February 29, 2020

    I’m very to announce that ‘Sanctuary’ from the series ‘Others Dream’ has been announced as a finalist in the 2020 Biennal Adelaide Park Lands Art Prize, and exhibited in the Adelaide Festival Centre, QBE galleries or the adjacent Festival Theatre Foyer. Winners will be announced on the 1st of April 2020. Exhibition dates 2nd April - 31st May. 




  • 2019



    •  


  • Metro Gallery Summer Group Exhibition
    December 11, 2019

    I will be exhibiting ‘Prisoners of Comfort’ from the series ‘Body of Water’ 2019 at the Metro Gallery Summer Group Exhibition. Opening night 19th Dec 6:30-8:30pm.




  • Chapter One Group Exhibition
    November 27, 2019

    I am thrilled to be chosen as one of the eight female photographers for the Sam I Am’s mentorship program, Chapter One. Our work made throughout this program will be showing at a special exhibition held at Pix On Location in Alexandria, Sydney at 6pm on Thursday, December 12th 2019.

    Featuring the visual stories of Chapter One mentorship participants, the photography on show is the culmination of three month’s worth of work that saw each successful applicant paired with a Sam I Am photographer. Helping them to cultivate our stories, the program included guiding the photographers through concept development and refinement, pre-production, shooting their vision, then working with their mentor to edit each story or series.




  • Ritual Practice Modern Times Xmas group exhibition
    November 26, 2019

    I am so delighted to be showing new works at ‘Ritual Practice’ Xmas Group Exhibition at Modern Times this December, including 30 artists.

    Please join us for drinks on the 5th of December from 6-8pm at Modern Times, 311 Smith St Fitzroy.

    The ‘Ritual Practice’ catalogue will be available on the 24th of November. Please contact Modern Times in store or by phone for any interest in works. All work will be online available for purchase from midday on Monday December 2nd.

    Selected Artists -

    Caroline Walls

    Stacey Rees

    Kasper Raglus

    Diana Miller

    Hannah Nowlan

    Christopher Jewitt

    Lilli Waters

    Kathryn Dolby

    Elizabeth Barnett

    Mark Alsweiler

    Billie Justice Thomson

    Ellie Malin

    Liam Haley

    Ria Green

    Emma Lipscombe

    Saxon Quinn

    Julia Flanagan

    Emily Besser

    Irene Grishin Selzer

    Kayleigh Heydon

    Charlie Harding

    Cricket Saleh

    Kate Damback

    Isobel Rayson

    Max Lawrence White

    Amy Wright

    Ro Noonan

    Sean McDowell

    Sarah Kelk

    Tags modern times, ritual practice, lilli waters, melbourne artists




  • The Opéra Magazine for Classic & Contemporary Nude Photography Volume VIII
    October 23, 2019







  • Art Thy Neighbour Interview
    September 22, 2019




  • Today I found out that birth father passed away 5 years ago. No one in my family had known until now.

    Although I only met him once as an adult, I have his curly hair, his eyes and his passion.

    He was an activist, a greenie, a fighter, a mover and a shaker and an amazing young man who did incredible things for his community and for the planet, before he got sick with paranoid schizophrenia.

    He was a traumatised man who led a troubled life, living unmedicated and homeless for much of his life. He never wanted to be found, he wanted to be free.

    Today, this very open and honest article was published about my life and my work.

    I was interviewed by Tessa from Art Thy Neighbour, we chatted about my childhood, the traumas I faced as a young person, my relationships and as corny as it sounds, how photography has been a part of my healing journey and a searching for the unknown.

    Thanks so much to Tess from Art Thy Neighbour for such beautiful writing.

    RIP Mick Waters, thank you for all that you gave. I hope you are free now, in a beautiful peaceful place filled with all of the trees that your heart desires xxx

    Interview by Tessa Ogle for Art Thy Neighbour

    Two years ago, Lilli Waters returned to Wytaliba where her mother helped start a hippie commune in the 70’s. Here, in a mudbrick house built by her father, Lilli spent the first 18 months of her life. Years later, the same house was vacant and falling apart.

    Lilli, a fine art photographer, described returning to the commune near Grafton in New South Wales as strange.

    The experience was made more bizarre in that her every reaction was captured for an ABC documentary that followed artists to a place from their past. And after the documentary screened she told me people from the commune contacted her to say her work reminded them of the bush in Wytaliba.

    While she’s unable able to recall her time in the commune as an infant, she said she has always been drawn to landscapes and believes living in the bush still influences her artwork today.

    “The first 18 months of anyone’s life can really steer them in the direction they go,” she said. Lilli has a habit of answering questions broadly, generalising and shifting the focus off herself.

    Lilli grew up in a creative family, with inspiration drawn from her fiery grandmother who worked as a photojournalist in the Vietnam War. Lilli’s photography has been featured in a growing list of exhibitions and magazines (even in Christian Grey’s apartment in 50 Shades Freed, a sequel to 50 Shades of Grey). With a violent father, distant mother and a string of abusive relationships, she uses her photography to, in part, reconnect with women.

    She primarily photographs female forms in landscapes and water in a state she describes as primal. Not too pretty or sexy – but still womanly and feminine.

    “I think that success to me is not going ‘oh that’s nice’, or ‘that’s pretty’ or ‘that’s beautiful’, more like ‘what the hell is this supposed to mean?’” Lilli said, laughing warmly. “Because I don’t know either.”

    The style of her personal work – as opposed to her commercial work – is often formed unconsciously. When I asked her if there’s a purposeful uniformity to her images she said she doesn’t think much planning goes into it.

    “I’m drawn to shooting in nature and that’s where I feel most comfortable.”

    “Confronting”, “violent” and “dark” are all words people have used to describe Lilli’s work to her. Though, she explained, when she photographs she doesn’t have those words in mind.

    “You’re not out there going, I’m going to make something dark, it’s just very organic.”

    At two years old, her family made the move to Nimbin in New South Wales where Lilli's mother had originally planned to settle before finding it to be overcrowded. It was here her parents’ relationship broke down.

    “There was a lot of violence at the commune, generally with men. A lot of the women left with their babies and my mum did that too,” she said, adding her father was schizophrenic and violent.

    Lilli no longer has contact with her father and fell out of touch with her mother for 15 years. She thinks this is likely to have had a bearing on her work. So did her experience in abusive relationships with boyfriends who didn’t let her have female friends. Bullying she experienced from females both at school and university also complicated her relationship with women.

    So why women in landscapes, or submerged in water?

    Lilli thinks in some ways her photography has acted as a tool to remould her perception of women. A medium to appease a curiosity and tackle a fear.

    “Maybe it was a good way of developing a relationship with these women I was shooting and starting to regain trust and get to know them again,” Lilli said. “It's taken me six years to go ‘oh, ok maybe that was why’.”

    When pressed about her relationship with her mother, she brushed it off with a “we’re ok”, summing it up by “we talk”.

    But Lilli’s eyes became bright with admiration as she described her grandmother, Elaine Moir, who played an important role in raising her.

    “My grandmother was a photographer. My whole family is creative,” she told me.

    Elaine Moir – who Lilli described as a fighter, humanitarian and a hippie – was a photojournalist in Saigon during the Vietnam War, and was often found cleaning creeks, stopping trees from being cut down and saving hundreds of Vietnamese orphans. In fact, her grandmother inspired Lilli with early ambitions to become a photojournalist.

    Perhaps the most shocking story she shared was when, from Vietnam, Elaine contacted her son at school in Australia and advised him to call a senior Whitlam government minister to tell him to send a plane. After being turned away by a school secretary, Lilli’s uncle made the call on a pay phone. A plane was sent to rescue Elaine and the orphans in her care the next day. She was dubbed a “waif smuggler”, for her efforts saving the malnourished Vietnamese children.

    Lilli believes her grandmother’s humanitarian values have been instilled in her. For instance, Lilli’s decisions surrounding her commercial work are informed by how sustainable a company is.

    Though her grandmother has been gone for a while now, Lilli told me she feels the fear and hopelessness – mirrored by many – concerning the issue of climate change that still remains from her grandmother’s time.

    “These problems have been around since the 1960’s and 70’s. Nothing’s changed – in fact it’s gotten worse.”

    She tells me she feels like she’s only just scratching the surface of giving a voice to issues that keep her up at night through her personal work.

    “Art is so important – but then also the world’s dying and we’re just making art,” she said.

    When discussing her conceptual images, she alluded to her work having an accidental power, that of being less planned and more driven by her unconscious. She described she’s taking more deliberate footing for a future project.

    Though her work hints at feminine and environmental issues, Lilli also wants to create art that is more explicit in its message. In fact, she’s is in the early stages of planning to amplify under-reported issues in the form of photo essays, in collaboration with journalists.

    “I mean, it’s not like I’m going to change the world, or that these stories aren’t being covered already, but I feel like it’s kind of my duty to use my skills for good.”

    She believes now, more than ever, it’s important to remember people like her grandmother who were fighting anyway – despite the challenges.

    “I would just feel better if I was doing something.”

    When I asked Lilli about her proudest moment in her career so far, she referenced her first exhibition: SHE RAW. The exhibition consisted of 41 images of 41 women captured over 18 months – the result of having six months to spare upon leaving an unsatisfying job as a retoucher. The show saw her raise over $5,000 for the White Ribbon Foundation, an organisation that works to prevent violence against women.

    “I wish I could pull a crowd like that now, but I can’t,” Lilli said, laughing.

    She described people dotted down the street waiting patiently to get in, and noteworthy artist Bill Henson as an attendee, an incredible feat for her first exhibition.

    Exuding a humble wisdom that made me feel what I can only describe as comfortably in awe, Lilli tells me her personal work is both therapeutic and “searching”. But she’s not yet sure exactly what she’s looking for.

    “I think it just comes with age – you get older and you work through your stuff and you realise the world’s not so dangerous,” she said. “There are no bullies anymore and there’s no scary man.”

    When I asked if she’s found what she was searching for Lilli said: “I don’t think you ever find those kind of things. You might look back when you’re old, and look back at images you made 30 years ago and go ‘oh, it was there’.”

    For now Lilli’s content with edging closer to a discovery, explaining that much of the beauty is in looking back.

    “If you think you found it, you wouldn’t keep looking for it.”

    Tags lilli waters, curatorial and co, artworks, artworks for sale, photography, limited edition print




  • Shortlisted, Australian Photography Awards 2019
    September 18, 2019

    Very excited to announce that my work ‘Dawning’ from ‘Others Dream’ has been shortlisted in the Australian Photography Awards for 2019. The top five finalists from each category will be announced on the week of September 23rd and winners will be announced at the first exhibition and awards night on October 12th 2019.




  • Finalist, Now Contemporary Art Award
    September 9, 2019

    I’m very excited to announce that my work ‘Dark Matter’ from ‘Body of Water’ is a finalist in the NOW Contemporary Art Award.

    The official exhibition opening will be held on Saturday 5 October at the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, Nowra NSW.

    Tags now contemporary art award, art award, lilli waters




  • Finalist, Iris Award
    August 28, 2019

    I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that my work ‘Metamorphis’ from ‘Others Dream’ as a Finalist in the Perth Centre for Photography Iris Award for 2019.

    Thank you so much to the award judges GUP Magazine for selecting my work.

    The 2019 Iris Award exhibition will open on the 18th of October at Perth Centre for Photography.

    Tags Iris Award, Lilli Waters, Perth Centre for Photography




  • Finalist, Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize
    August 27, 2019

    I am beyond thrilled to announce that my work ‘Utero’ is a finalist in the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize for 2019.

    ‘Ritual’ exhibition will be held at the Haven Gallery in Northport, New York, featuring the Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize winners, along with 50 of the world’s best contemporary artists.

    Tags beautiful bizarre, lilli waters, art prize




  • Commended, The Mono Award 2019
    August 26, 2019

    Thank you to The Mono Award for Commending my image ‘Dawning’ from the ‘Others Dream’ series.




  • 'SUN Celebrates: Her' Group Exhibition
    August 18, 2019

    SUN Celebrates returns for its second year to highlight the brightest photography talent in Melbourne.

    In 2019 Sun celebrates women: the breadth, depth and strength of work created by practitioners across genres.

    SUN Celebrates: Her is an eclectic showcase of women working in photography today, and another step toward equal recognition.

    Launching September 5 and continuing until September 27 at Skylight Gallery, Melbourne.

    Photo by Jamieson Moore


  • Winter Group Exhibition Metro Gallery
    July 24, 2019

    Winter Group Exhibition opens at Metro Gallery on the 15th of August, 6:30-8:30pm.

    I will be showing two new works from my latest 2019 series ‘Body of Water’.

    I hope to see you there!

    Lilli x






  • Finalist, Incinerator Art Award 2019
    July 5, 2019

    I’m very excited to announce that my work ‘in Dreams’ from ‘Plastic Fish’ is a Finalist in the Incinerator Art Award for 2019.

    The exhibition will be held at Incinerator Gallery from Oct to Dec 2019.

    Tags Lilli Waters, art award, incinerator art award




  • In Conversation with Lilli Waters - Interview with Modern Times
    June 26, 2019

    Full article here

    Female identity and our relationship with nature are two prominent themes of Melbourne photographer Lilli Waters’ latest body of work, ‘Others Dream’. The 11 images in this series are highly evocative and intriguing – all in their own unique way – so we relished the opportunity to hear all the details.

    Lilli travelled to Western Australia to shoot this series – partly for the incredible location and partly because a Victorian winter doesn’t lend itself well to shooting a model in water. With a four-week turnaround time (her shortest deadline to date), she spent four days in WA shooting at dawn and dusk, on both a digital and analog camera – using expired black and white film from the 1960s – then driving, scouting and sleeping in between. Lilli admits she had no idea what to expect when she returned to Melbourne to edit and develop her images but the resulting body of work is incredibly powerful.

    Read more from our chat with Lilli below and be sure to visit us to view the exhibition before June 30.

    Can you tell us a little about what inspired this body of work?

    The ‘Others Dream’ series was inspired by Hutt Lagoon, a salt lake located near Kalbarri in Western Australia, which has a pink hue due to the presence of a carotenoid-producing algae. The body of work was photographed using a combination of digital and medium format analog cameras, using expired black and white film. Working with two very different mediums of photography was largely an experiment, and I was unsure as to whether the desaturated black and white film would work cohesively alongside vibrant colours.

    The pieces are very emotive, and female identity and nature are both strong themes. What are you hoping to convey through your images?

    In ‘Others Dream’, the subject is placed in strange landscapes and positions, portraying a surreal and dreamlike atmosphere, almost like trying to escape from reality. I like to capture the subjects in transitional poses to create a sense of movement or suspense. Transparent fabrics and long hair (an assortment of wigs) obscure their faces and identities, adding a mystery and unease to the works, and acting as a kind of protective veil. This obscuring of the face can perhaps help the viewer to feel more connected to the subject, as the work acts more like a mirror than a portrait. The landscapes are often dark and hostile, but the subject looks almost at home in these environments, as if she was borne from them and nourished by them.

    Some viewers see darkness and pain in my work, maybe a sense of being trapped, though for me there is a sense of freedom in being able to make photographs that represent all of these things. It is empowering to be able to convey a different side of the feminine than that which society has fed us for so long. A side that requires a rethinking of notions of vulnerability, female frailty and the more primal feminine relationship with nature.

    My works try to honour a communion with nature and contain a sense of grieving for the unknown future of the earth, as the earth becomes more unbalanced. Ever since I was a little girl I’ve had an endless curiosity in observing and interacting with nature; it brings me a sense of peace. Water is also a huge part of my work, I feel that it has a profoundly magical quality. So many of our daily rituals, our beliefs, our way of life, are connected to water. It is such a physical and spiritual power.

    You’ve often spoken about your desire to be closer to nature. In what ways do you think your upbringing on a rural counter-culture community near Canberra has influenced you and your work?

    I was raised on a commune in Wytaliba, 100 kilometres out of Canberra, but left at a very young age (around two) so I don’t have any specific memories from my time there. Some of the locals who lived there at the time have commented that my photographs look as though they were taken there, and I do believe the first few years of life really affect how we see the world and how we live our lives. I feel a strong sense of ‘home’ in this type of bush environment. Often I find myself yearning to be in the bush and close to flowing water, and so these landscapes have become a common thread in a lot of my work.

    How long was the process of completing this body of work, from start to finish?

    The series was photographed over four days at dawn and dusk, then driving, scouting and sleeping in between. I had a deadline of about four weeks to proof, print and send it to Italy. This was the shortest amount of time I have ever had to make a new body of work, and I was lucky that I arrived home from WA with enough works to present as a full series.

    What was your favourite park of the process and why?

    I really enjoyed working intensely over a four day period, and although it was physically and creatively challenging, it allowed me to focus solely on making the work with no distractions. I chose not to work with an assistant or scout for locations, so I planned a direct route from Perth to Kalbarri where I knew the pink lake was located (although I had no idea if it was going to be pink or not) and chose locations that were along the way. My favourite part of the process is the post production, this is where I find the creativity really emerges for me, and I can play with colours, layering techniques and fine editing. I find this stage brings real clarity to the work and it’s where the photographs come alive and evolve into themselves.

    The pink lake (which appears as a vibrant red in your images) and the rugged landscape of Western Australia are a big part of the identity of this series. Why did you choose to shoot in WA?

    Last winter, a curator asked me if I could create a new body of work for an exhibition in three months’ time in Florence, Italy, but it was too cold in Victoria to take a model and photograph in water. I’d heard that there was a pink lake located in Western Australia, so I pitched an idea that I travel with a model to the much warmer state of WA for five days and photograph across different landscapes. Luckily, the pitch was accepted and we were on our way within a few weeks. The West Australian landscape was completely foreign to me, I’ve never seen anything like it before.

    It’s an incredibly strong body of work. How did you select the final 11 pieces?

    Once I returned from WA, I offered the curator fifteen of the strongest works and we chose the final eleven for the exhibition together. Initially she was only after ten photographs so I was really happy that the one landscape was included in the series.

    In what ways does your work challenge you or change the way you think?

    At times, it feels as if the work I create is articulating themes that I am almost unaware of on a conscious level. Themes which tend to resurface in my work took me a long time to be able to articulate with words, and this is still a constant challenge. In the past I have struggled with the meaning behind my work, so in that sense it challenges me to look deeper and to acknowledge and confront some of the pain and trauma from my childhood. This has led me on a slow path of healing.

    What would you like to explore through your work in the future?

    I would like to continue to explore similar themes throughout my work, but on a much larger scale, exploring epic and challenging landscapes and experimenting with much larger pieces of fabric. My aim is to continue to explore a reimagining of the feminine form and challenge perceptions, including my own.

    Quick-fire questions!

    What does a typical day look like for you?

    My hubby gets up before me and then my two tonkinese cats come straight into the bed and snuggle up with me before my hubby brings me a cup of tea. Bliss! I’ll usually then grab a coffee from next door and head into my studio around 9 or 10 if I’m not on a shoot. I’m lucky in that my job is a good balance of being out on location and quieter days behind the computer.

    If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be?

    A film director or a seal (I’m crazy about swimming & playing underwater).

    What are you listening to at the moment (music and/or podcast)?

    MUSIC – Aldous Harding, Weyes Blood, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten, Amen Dunes, Jade Imagine, Julia Jacklin and Jazz Party, and my hubby Jacob Cole’s soon-to-be-released new solo album, which is super exciting!

    PODCAST – Under the Skin with Russell Brand, Fresh Air, WTF with Marc Maron, Making Sense with Sam Harris, The Guilty Feminist, Death, Sex & Money with Anna Sale.

    You’re hosting a dinner party – what’s your signature dish?

    Homemade healthy chocolate! Or, a yummy cake. I hardly ever bake, but when I do, I love it.

    If you could purchase one thing for your home, and money was no object, what would it be?

    Is a beautiful cottage filled with artworks and a home studio surrounded by an overgrown flower garden in the country allowed?

    Where to next on your travel destination wish list?

    I really want to go to Antarctica to shoot a new body of work. I’m hoping to apply for a grant to make that a reality.

    If you could exhibit your work anywhere in the world, which gallery would you choose?

    Moma in NYC, The Photographers Gallery in London and the Venice Biennale would be dreams come true.

    Tags modern times, lilli waters, photography, exhibition




  • Metro Gallery Winter Group Exhibition
    June 21, 2019

    Last days to see the Winter Group Exhibition at Metro Gallery.

    Metro Gallery
    1214 High Street
    Armadale VIC

    Open:

    Friday 21st 9:50-5:30pm
    Sat 22nd 10:30-5pm



  • 'Others Dream' Modern Times Solo Exhibition
    June 21, 2019

    ‘Others Dream’
    20 - 30th June 2019

    Modern Times
    311 Smith Street
    Fitzroy

    Gallery hours:
    Mon-Fri 10-6pm
    Sat 10-5pm
    Sun 11-5pm



    Tags modern times, Lilli Waters, photography exhibition, exhibition


  • Thank You!!
    June 21, 2019

    My heart is so full. I am so incredibly overwhelmed with the amount of love that was in this room last night. What wonderful & beautiful friends & supporters I have around me.

    Thank you from the bottom of my heart to those of you who came to my solo exhibition opening ‘Others Dream’ at Modern Times last night, it was such an incredibly warm experience for me having you all there. Thank you for the touching feedback and comments on the works, you made the night so incredibly special for me, so thank you. To those who purchased works, a giant hug & kiss from me, thank you so much for your support, it means the absolute world to me.

    I can’t express in words my gratitude for this opportunity and to the extremely kind and generous people at Modern Times, you are truly beautiful humans who have profoundly touched my heart, thank you.

    And thank you to the sponsors Sample Brew & Blackhearts & Sparrows who provided the quality drops.

    ‘Others Dream’ is on until next weekend, Sunday the 30th of June, so please pop in to check it out!

    Modern Times
    311 Smith Street
    Fitzroy

    Gallery hours:
    Mon-Fri 10-6pm
    Sat 10-5pm
    Sun 11-5pm

    All 11 framed works are editions of 8 and are available in two sizes. Please contact Modern Times at sales@moderntimes.com.au for a copy of the catalogue or to enquire about a specific artwork.

    Photos by Elise Scott.



    Tags Modern Times, Lilli Waters, Photography exhibition, Exhibition, Photography


  • 'Reawaken' Solo Exhibition at Craig's Royal Hotel in collaboration with the Ballarat International Foto Biennale
    June 17, 2019

    Thank you thank you thank you to ALL of the wonderful people who came to my opening solo exhibition ‘Reawaken’ at Craig’s Royal Hotel in collaboration with the Ballarat International Foto Biennale. I was so incredibly honoured to meet so many wonderful new friends & chat about art & new exciting ideas!

    A huge thank you to Biennale Directors Bridget & Fiona Sweet for opening the exhibition, to Aaron & Madelyn for helping to put this show together and for the fabulous pub crawl & to my wonderful mates who took the long drive down, you made the day very special. Thank you so much to Craig’s Royal Hotel for having my work on your walls & for the beautiful complimentary night stay in your beautiful hotel.

    8 of the works have already sold, however, they are editions of 14 + 1AP, so please contact info@ballaratfoto.org for any print sale enquiries.

    This exhibition will run until the 10th of August.

    https://ballaratfoto.org/events/lilli-waters/



    Tags craigs royal hotel, bifb, ballarat international foto biennale, lilli waters, exhibition, photography exhibition




  • Solo Exhibition ‘Others Dream’ opening at Modern Times
    June 6, 2019

    Friends!

    It has been a busy year exhibition wise for me, and it brings me great pleasure to invite you to the biggest one yet!

    My solo exhibition Others Dream opens at the beautiful Modern Times, Thursday the 20th of June from 6 - 8pm.

    11 unreleased large scale photographs meld the female figure with the landscape of unsettling, other worldly scenes. These works were created in 2018 across Western Australia on a mix of digital & analog cameras, and it is my greatest pleasure to finally share them with you all.

    Please join us for drinks on opening night!

    Thursday 20th June

    Modern Times 311 Smith Street, Fitzroy 6 - 8pm

    Catalogue release and Pre sales open 11th of June.

    The exhibition will run until 30th of June.

    For more information, to register for pre sales or to enquire about the purchase of an artwork,

    please contact -

    email: sales@moderntimes.com.au phone: 03 9913 8598

    Work -

    Sanctuary from Others Dream 162 x 108cm Archival pigment print on fibre rag Edition of 8 + 1AP 2018

    Artist Statement -

    ‘Others Dream’ questions our relationship with nature and ourselves and ideas about female identity through unsettling, otherworldly scenes.

    Female figures inhabit primordial, foreboding landscapes in poses of stillness and fluid movement that require a re-thinking of notions of vulnerability and power. These women contradict stereotypes of feminine frailty; they appear to be birthed into nature, or perhaps birthed from nature; naked yet fearless and empowered.

    These images speak to a significant part of my own identity as a woman. I was born on a rural counter-culture community in Wytaliba, about 100 kilometres out of Canberra, where everyone grew their own produce on the land and washed and swam in the river. Nature had a vivid presence in our daily life that is often absent in the city, where I now live. Often, I wake and find myself yearning to be in the bush and close to flowing water.

    In these photographs I wanted to communicate a sense in that the figures belong and are even nourished by these potentially hostile surroundings. Moonscape rock formations are merged with the female form, seamlessly blurring the lines between the human body and the ancient landscape. At dawn and dusk, the edge of slumber and first light, these figures awaken out of the darkness and live in the hours when others dream.

    Others Dream was highly commended in the 2019 Australasian Top Emerging Photography Awards.

    For more information, visit

    https://www.moderntimes.com.au/exhibition/upcoming-exhibition-lilli-waters-others-dream/

    Exhibition sponsored by Sample Brew and Blackhearts Wine

    I hope to see your beautiful faces there :)

    Warmest, Lilli x x x

    Tags modern times, photography, photography exhibition, women in landscapes, lilli waters, female gaze, pink lake, artist, photoart, australian art, contemporary art, melbourne art, photographer, landscape, women in the arts, female photographer, photoexhibition




  • Winter Group Exhibition at Metro Gallery, open from 18th of June
    June 3, 2019

    Winter Group Exhibition

    Metro Gallery
    1214 High St
    Armadale VIC

    Open from the 18th of June

    Work:

    ‘Dark Matter’
    Archival pigment print on fibre rag
    90 x 135cm
    Limited edition of 8 + 1AP
    2019




  • Ballarat International Foto Ballarat Solo Exhibition 'Reawaken' opens 1st June
    May 16, 2019

    YOU ARE INVITED!!!

    I’m very excited to invite you to the opening of my ‘Reawaken’ exhibition, opening at Craig’s Royal Hotel in collaboration with the 2019 Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

    Please join me for the opening on Saturday the 1st of June from 2:30-5:30pm, I’ll also be giving an Artist talk at 3:30pm.

    Craig’s Royal Hotel
    10 Lydiard Street
    South Ballarat

    Please rsvp for catering by the 24th of May, to info@ballaratfoto.org

    Exhibition runs until Sunday the 10th of August. Open 7 days 10am-5pm. Free entry.

    https://ballaratfoto.org/events/lilli-waters/




  • Australia's Emerging Photographer Award - Highly Commended
    May 12, 2019

    I’m very happy to announce that my series ‘Others Dream’ 2018 has been highly commended in Australia’s Top Emerging Photographers Award in the Art Category!

    I’m also very very excited to finally be exhibiting this series in Melbourne, Australia!

    ‘Others Dream’ opens at Modern Times on Thursday the 20th of June, pre sales begin on the 11th of June.

    To preview the works or to register for pre sales, please contact sales@moderntimes.com.au ❤️




  • ** EXHIBITION DATES ANNOUNCED **
    April 26, 2019

    ✨EXHIBITION DATES ANNOUNCED ✨

    I’m very excited to be sharing two of my most recent series of photographic works from 2018 & 2019 in three upcoming exhibitions in June.

    It has been such a wonderfully fulfilling as well as incredibly challenging process making these new works over the past 10 months, I have learnt so much about myself throughout.

    I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without the extraordinary help of many many people, I have a lot to be grateful for and a lot of beautiful humans to thank for making this all possible.

    A huge huge shout out to the very inspiring & always elegant @anekamanners for believing in me, having full trust & funding the entire making of and printing for the ‘Others Dream’ exhibition, this series wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for you. I am forever grateful. To the beautiful & graceful @theanightingale for your hard work & dedication, I so enjoy making art with you, always.To the sweet & other-worldly @nfornelle thank you for working so so hard out there & for so much of your time, I am so lucky to have you with me throughout this journey. To beautiful mates @ursula_woods_ and @jethropickett for taking care of us and so generously offering a place to stay, getting up at 6am to take us out on the water and for cooking meals for us when we were too tired to move, thank you, I love you guys heaps. To @moderntimesau @ballaratfoto and @metro_gallery for supporting my work and being so kind to me, it is truly a dream come true to be working with you. To Tim & Ness at @thirdsfineartprinting for your priceless hard work and attention to detail, I wouldn’t be here without you guys, what a blessing you are. Finally, to my tireless and most supportive partner in crime @jacobxc for encouraging me to keep going, feeding me 3 x meals a day, attending to my deadlines at 11pm at night, and for picking up after the tears when I’m tired & feel like giving up. I love you like no other.

    I am so incredibly happy & relieved & excited to finally be sharing it with all of YOU this June.

    Save the following dates ~

    * Solo Exhibition at @craigsroyalhotel in collaboration with @ballaratfoto Opening Saturday 1st June 2:30-5:30pm, Artist talk at 3:30pm. Open until the 18th of August.

    * Winter Group Exhibition at @metro_gallery Opening Night Thursday 13th June 6:30-8:30pm. Open until the 22nd of June.

    * Solo Exhibition ‘Others Dream’ at @moderntimesau Opening Thursday Night 20th of June 6-8pm. Open until the 30th of June.

    I hope to see you there xxx

    Close-up detail from ‘Underworld’ from the series ‘Body of Water’ 2019
    Archival pigment print on fibre rag
    90 x 135cm
    Edition of 8 + 1 AP




  • Solo Exhibition 'Others Dream' opening at Modern Times
    April 21, 2019

    Please save the date!! After joining the wonderful family at Modern Times last year, I am so incredibly excited to announce my upcoming solo exhibition ‘Others Dream’, officially opening on Thursday the 20th of June at Modern Times in Fitzroy, 6-8pm.

    This series was photographed in Western Australia for an exhibition which opened in Florence, Italy late last year, so it brings me much joy to bring it to Melbourne and have the wonderful opportunity to exhibit it again.

    Pre-sales begin on the 11th of June. To preview the works or to register for pre-sales, please contact sales@moderntimes.com.au. This exhibition will run until the 30th of June.

    Close-up detail of ‘Sanctuary’ from ‘Others Dream’
    Archival pigment print on fibre rag
    162 x 108cm
    Edition of 8 + 2 AP




  • Solo Exhibition opening at Craig's Royal Hotel in collaboration with the Ballarat international Foto Biennale
    April 17, 2019

    I am incredibly excited to be invited to have a Solo Exhibition at Craig’s Royal Hotel in collaboration with the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, exhibiting a collection of earlier works as well as some of my latest unreleased photographic works, opening 1st of June. More details announced soon.




  • THANK YOU!
    February 24, 2019

    My heart is so full! A huge huge thank you to everyone who came to my exhibition opening at Metro Gallery last night. Your support means the absolute world to me.

    Extra special thanks to the wonderful people at Metro - Rebecca, Camille, Sophia & Juliuus, for their amazing hard work putting this show together, and congratulations to @kimkimkimxx for her incredible work.

    This show will run until the 9th of March.

    Gallery hours:
    Tue - Fri 9:30 - 5:30pm
    Saturday 10:30 - 5pm
    1214 High St, Armadale VIC

    For print sales, please contact info@metrogallery.com.au

    Tags metro gallery, solo exhibition, solo show, photography exhibition, photography, photographic artist, lilli waters




  • METRO GALLERY SOLO EXHIBITION OPENING NIGHT
    February 18, 2019

    Dear friends.

    I am extremely excited to announce my first solo exhibition at Metro Gallery opening this week, Thursday 21st February. It has been a dream of mine to exhibit at this gallery for many years, and I am truly delighted to be showing a collection of artworks in this beautiful space.

    My works will be shown alongside paintings by incredible artist Kim Hyunji.

    It would be an honour if you would join me for a glass of sparkling on opening night next Thursday from 6:30 - 8:30pm at Metro Gallery, 1214 High Street, Armadale.

    "There is something both strange and striking about images made by Melbourne based photographer, Lilli Waters. The figures, almost exclusively female, are placed in peculiar positions within equally strange landscapes. The figure from “Utero” (pictured below), emerges from a red liquid, washed ashore an almost mythical land. The figure is beginning to stir, hinted at masterfully by the ripples in the water. This, coupled with the dissonant color combination of pale white and an artificial red, imbues the photograph with a sense of trepidation. There is also certainly a parallel between the nascent subject matter and the act of creation on the part of the artist. The palette is even reminiscent of a photographer’s dark room. Waters' emphasis on nature comes from her mother and grandmother, as well as an upbringing on a counterculture commune in Wytaliba, NSW. “She (Elaine Moir, grandmother) was a serious lover of the environment, writing letters and starting campaigns to stop McDonalds from taking over her local community, teaching me the names of all the birds and animal species and the importance of planting trees and helping on creek clean up days.” Waters’ subjects certainly appear to have a symbiotic, if somewhat uneasy, relationship with their environment. They are born of the earth, appearing in the landscape like a blooming flower. It is often unclear, however, whether the subject is thriving in the landscape, or succumbing to it.

    Waters photographs many of her figures in a transitional pose, instilling a sense of anticipation in the viewer; in “Utero” the figure slowly begins to stir and in “ANJA #25” (pictured below), a female form writhes beneath a thin veil amidst a dark abyss. Accentuating this suspense is also Waters decision to shoot at dawn and dusk, when the sun is on the precipice of either being snuffed out, or of bursting forth from the horizon line. This perhaps symbolises one of the overarching themes in Waters oeuvre, the constant push and pull between life and death, creation and decay."

    Words by Julius Killerby.

    The exhibition will run until the 9th of March.

    I hope to see you for some bubbly!

    Lilli xx

    Opening Night 6 - 8pm 1214 High Street, Armadale

    http://www.metrogallery.com.au/lilli-waters

    Tags metro gallery, lilli waters, photography exhibition, photography, solo exhibition, gallery, melbourne gallery, photographic artist, artworks, artworks for sake, artworks for sale




  • VOGUE LIVING INTERVIEW - FEB / MARCH ISSUE
    February 13, 2019

    I’m over the moon to be interviewed for the brand new Feb / March issue of Vogue Living Magazine.

    The new issue comes out tomorrow, just in time for Valentines Day (and my birthday!)

    I’d love it if you checked it out.

    Happy Valentines Day 💋❤️

    Tags vogue living, vogue, vogue living magazine, artist profile, artist, exhibition, lilli waters




  • National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019
    February 7, 2019

    So very very proud to be a National Portrait Prize Finalist for 2019!

    As the World Falls Down #2

    Once a year I go up to Billinudgel in NSW to see my therapist. She believes that good therapy is based on a relationship - not like the one in psychology where you sit across someone on a chair but one where you go for walks and swims together and the relationship has space.

    Recently, I stayed in a cabin on her property and photographed a series of works of her daughter Maya and her boyfriend at a place called Protestor’s Falls. You walk through rain forest with huge trees to a pool and a long stark fall of water.

    I wanted to communicate something about youth, beginnings and freedom, that time between late adolescence and adulthood that is filled with possibility but some anxiety too.

    ‘As the World Falls Down’ is a David Bowie song from the film ‘The Labyrinth.’ There was something about Maya’s physical presence and the feeling of that day that recalled Bowie for me.

    Tags nppp, national photographic portrait prize, national photography portrait prize, lilli waters, as the world falls down, portraiture, portrait, portrait award, australian photography awards


  • The Design Files - Things of Fire & Ash, Remembered
    February 7, 2019

    Thank you so much to The Design Files for featuring the ‘Things of Fire & Ash, Remembered’ exhibition, which opens tomorrow at the Victoria Police Museum as part of the 10th anniversary of the Black Saturday Bushfires.

    Tags lilli waters, curatorial and co, artworks, artworks for sale, photography, limited edition print




  • Remembering Black Saturday Through Portraits
    February 6, 2019

    A decade on, reflecting on the courage and resilience of Black Saturday fire survivors with photographer Lilli Waters.

    While Tasmania currently burns, and Queensland suffers fatal floods, we are also coming up to the 10-year anniversary of Victoria’s devastating Black Saturday fires.

    Photographer Lilli Waters explores the courage and resilience of those affected by the fires in an exhibition at the Victorian Police Museum. Things of Fire and Ash: Remembered traces the lives of six young people from the Kinglake area and reflects ‘individuals’ stories and journeys. ‘We asked our participants to write about what the 10-year anniversary means to them,’ explains curator Amber Evangelista.

    Lilli was lucky not to be directly affected by Black Saturday, but the horrendous climate event resonated strongly with her. She explains, ‘it has been an extraordinary experience for me to be invited back to photograph portraits of these kids five years later, now as young adults, seeing them grown and matured, and rebuilding their lives after such a loss’. The exhibition also features four Victoria Police officers whose bravery and spirit provided extraordinary support and care to those in need.

    Lilli highlights, ‘I feel extremely privileged to have been a small part of such an important event in our history as the 10-year anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires.’

    Things Of Fire And Ash: Remembered by Lilli Waters
    Opening Thursday, February 7th
    Victoria Police Museum
    637 Flinders Street
    Docklands, Victoria


    Tags black saturday, things of fire and ash remembered, victorian police museum, lilli waters, exhibition, melbourne exhibition




  • 'Things of Fire & Ash, Remembered' Exhibition, Victorian Police Museum
    January 31, 2019

    I am extremely honoured to have been chosen to photograph the works for ‘Things of Fire and Ash, Remembered’ exhibition, opening at the Victorian Police Museum next week.

    February 2019 is the 10th anniversary of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires, one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history.

    As part of the state-wide commemoration the Victoria Police Museum is holding an exhibition throughout 2019. 'Things of Fire and Ash, Remembered', opens 7th of February, and pays tribute to the personal journeys and reflections of community members and police officers involved in the fires of 2009.

    OPENING SOON. For more information visit the website www.policemuseum.vic.gov.au

    Tags lilli waters, things of fire and ash remembered, melbourne museum, kinglake, exhibition, photography exhibition, black saturday, victorian police museum, melbourne photographer, bushfires




  • Artwork in Belle Magazine
    January 1, 2019

    So stoked to have one of my artworks from my Iceland trip featured in this months Dec/Jan issue of Belle Magazine!

    ‘Lead us to Water #3’ 78 x 112cm Archival pigment print on fibre rag

    Available to purchase at Curatorial & Co.



    Tags belle magazine, magazine, house and home, lilli waters, landscape


  • 2018



  • FEATURE SHOOT 'OTHERS DREAM'
    December 13, 2018

    Feature Shoot ‘Others Dream’ 2018 by Miss Rosen

    “At dusk and dawn, the edge of slumber and first light, these figures awaken out of the darkness and live in the hours when others dream,” Lilli Waters writes in the artist statement for her disquieting series, Others Dream, which features women amid an otherworldly landscape that is equal parts foreboding and curious.

    Photographed across Western Australia, the images from Others Dream offer a mystical, mythical portrait of the primordial essence of life that begins in utero before being launched upon the earth. They offer themselves as wordless poems, silent revealing secrets to us, offering a moment of meditation where we can escape the artifice that civilization demands and return to something infinitely simpler albeit impossible to fully comprehend.

    Here Waters shares her journey, revealing the path that brought her to the creation of this body of work, offering insight on the effortless synergy of life and art.

    How did your mother and grandmother instill a passion for social activism and a love for nature in their work?

    “My late grandmother Elaine Moir was a feminist and activist throughout her life. She was a photojournalist during the Vietnam War, and later became a part of a small team of people who saved hundreds orphans from the bombings in Saigon.

    “She was a serious lover of the environment, writing letters and starting campaigns to stop McDonalds from taking over her local community, teaching me the names of all of the birds and animal species and the importance of planting trees and helping on creek clean up days.

    “We would ride our bikes to the wetlands and I would watch her as she took water samples and attempted to protect the baby herons from the neighbors pet cats. She was my hero and biggest inspiration. My mother spent many years living off the grid in the bush as a younger woman and is a botanical artist, drawing her inspiration from nature.”

    Can you describe life on a commune in New South Wales, and how this connection with nature has informed your sense of self?

    “I was born on a rural counterculture community in Wytaliba, about 100 kilometers out of Canberra, where everyone grew their own produce on the land and washed and swam in the river. Nature had a vivid presence in our daily life that is often absent in the city, where I now live.

    “Often, I wake and find myself yearning to be in the bush and close to flowing water. I was young when I lived on the commune, so I don’t have any memories from my life there. However, people from the community describe my photographs as looking as though they were taken there, so these early childhood experiences must have been very aesthetically formative for me.”

    When did you begin to realize your path as an artist, and what was it about photography that revealed itself as the medium for your work?

    “There was no specific point of realization that I was on the artist’s path. I’ve always needed a creative outlet. When I was a girl, I was obsessed with so many things: playing music, dancing, singing, sports, theatre and making films, although I could never paint like my mother.

    “I remember this overwhelming feeling of anxiety when I used to see something beautiful in nature and no one around me seemed to be as excited as I was, so I guess photography for me is a way of capturing the fleeting beauty I see around me and being able to hold on to it and share it with others. That brings me much joy.”

    Can you describe the relationship between nature and the feminine, and the way that informs the subjects of the series Others Dream?

    “Others Dream questions our relationship with nature and ourselves, as well as ideas about female identity through unsettling, otherworldly scenes. The photographs encompass ideas about vulnerability and power, and aim to contradict stereotypes of feminine frailty. I hope viewers can have an emotive response and go on their own imaginative journey.”

    What is your process for creating these shoots — do you have a specific vision based on casting and location scouting, or is it something that reveals itself in the moment?

    “Others Dream was photographed across Western Australia. At the time it was winter and I was asked to make new work for an upcoming exhibition in Florence. Victoria being too cold, I put forward an idea to take a life model and spend four days shooting in WA.

    “I planned a route from Perth to Kalbarri, stopping at dunes and National parks, heading towards the pink lakes I had become slightly obsessed over. I took a dear friend of mine, who’d I’d also worked with before, and we photographed at dusk and dawn every day, driving and sleeping in between.

    “I’d picked up some props from an op shop, a bag of expired black and white film I’d found on eBay and just hoped that the lake was in fact pink. There was a broad vision for the work, but the reality is, you’re improvising and working with small windows of the right light.”

    Can you speak about the female gaze and the ways in which it informs your portrayals of the protagonist?

    “I think it is important to provide a perspective of the female form through a female gaze. Photography is so prominent in our daily lives, I want to use this medium to gently examine the depiction of the female form as we live through the challenging Me Too era, while women everywhere grapple with the conundrum of how to represent the beauty in oneself, without being constantly sexualized.”

    I’ve been thinking a lot about climate change as the literal analogy of the disrespect/abuse of the feminine aspect of existence (like the earth is saying Me Too). When I saw your photos, I was struck by the powerful ambiguity — there’s both a sense of assault and a refusal to succumb. Could you speak about the way that you deal with the duality that is present in your work?

    “These images for me speak to a significant part of my own identity as a woman. My images are often seen as ambiguous. I am searching for a rawness and expression that I can’t really put into words, so it makes sense that people might view them in different ways.

    “Some see darkness and pain, and with this series, maybe a sense of being trapped, though for me there is a sense of freedom in creating works that can be all of these things, and also empowering and a more full expression of the feminine than that which society has fed us.

    “In the photographs I wanted to communicate a sense in that the figures belong and are even nourished by these potentially hostile surroundings. Moonscape rock formations are merged with the female form, seamlessly blurring the lines between the female body and landscape. I wanted this imagery to move viewers to consider how we respond to the female body and to the natural environment.

    “In the Romantic era, nature was frequently feminized in literature. Woman and the earth have been characterized as fertile and bountiful, and as providing nourishment — enabling life itself. It is interesting to revisit these ideas in the wake of the Me Too movement and impending environmental disaster. What role might women have in re-visioning not only how we understand gender but our ideas about nature?”

    Link to full article here

    Tags feature shoot, lilli waters, others dream, modern times, artist, artist interview, artist feature, artist profile, art feature, photographer, photographic artist, photographer feature, photographer interview


  • METRO GALLERY SUMMER COLLECTION
    November 20, 2018

    Hi everybody!

    I’m super excited to be showing work at the Metro Gallery ‘Summer Collection’ Group Exhibition, which opens next Thursday the 29th at 6:30pm!

    Featured Artists: Tom Adair Adnate Joshua Cocking Donovan Christie Dianne Gall Tom Gerrard Kim Hyunji Anthony Lister Brock Q Piper Matthew Quick James Reka Loribelle Spirovski Jim Thalassoudis Lilli Waters

    Please join us for drinks at Metro Gallery, 6:30-8:30pm, 1214 High St Armadale.

    Hope to see you there 🙂

    Lilli x

    https://www.facebook.com/events/482855042226852/

    Tags lilli waters, curatorial and co, artworks, artworks for sale, photography, limited edition print




  • FINALIST: NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT PRIZE 2019
    November 14, 2018

    I am unbelievably honoured to be selected as a Finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize for 2019.

    40 Finalists from 3113 entries were announced for the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2019.

    The selected portraits will be on display at the Portrait Gallery in Canberra from 23 February – 7 April 2019.

    The winner of the NPPP 2019 will be announced at the launch of the exhibition on 22 February.

    After the exhibition, the NPPP 2019 will be touring around Australia. If you’d like to see the exhibition at a venue near you, please ask your local gallery.

    https://nppp.portrait.gov.au/

    Tags finalist, art prize, photography awards, photography prize, national photographic portrait prize, lilli waters, exhibition, portrait award, portrait, portrait gallery




  • TDF: THE LUXURY OF LANDSCAPE : FLORENCE, ITALY
    October 18, 2018

    The Design Files ’The Luxury of Landscape’ By Sally Tabart

    Curated by artist and designer Aneka Manners, The Luxury Of Landscape brings together an eclectic lineup of Australian creatives in a celebration of art, fashion and the human condition. Set against the magnificent backdrop of the Palazzo Pandolfini, a 16th century private Italian palace Florence, which is usually closed to the public. The multi-disciplinary exhibition is ‘centred around the beauty and transience of landscape’, explains Lilli Waters, Melbourne-based photographer and exhibitor.

    Lilli’s photos of fantastical scenes featuring female forms engaged with the landscape are simultaneously delicate and powerful, evoking images of paintings by the European masters. Her works are modern in medium, yet seem right at home in the historical location. ‘The juxtaposition of the contemporary with the ancient has proved a beautiful combination,’ Lilli explained.

    Alongside Lilli’s arresting photography sits the works of florist, artist, author and Doctor of philosophy, Dr Lisa Cooper (aka Doctor Cooper). Bringing a collection of conceptual botanical installations to The Luxury Of Landscape, Doctor Cooper’s ephemeral work will decay throughout the two week show.

    Artist, designer and managing director at NAB (yes!) Aneka Manners is the raison d’être for this Florentine affair. Curating the entire event and commissioning works especially for the occasion, The Luxury Of Landscape is Aneka’s fully realised vision.

    As well as creating the concept for the exhibition, Aneka brings her limited-edition fashion range from her eponymous brand launched last year, as well as a fine jewellery collaboration with Kailis Pearls. In addition to the artwork on exhibition for the two-week duration, Aneka has also invited creatives to design specific, one-off events, including a sound and light experience by producer and vocalist CLAUDIO, an intimate long-table lunch by Michelin star chefs coupled with rare wines, and a tasting night showcasing the diversity of Tuscan gin.

    The Luxury Of Landscape Curated by Aneka Manners October 4th–18th Palazzo Pandolfini Florence, Italy

    https://thedesignfiles.net/2018/10/art-exhibition-the-luxury-of-landscape-florence/




  • FINALIST: AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS
    October 16, 2018

    I'm very excited to come in at no. 18 out of 20 finalists for the Portrait category in the Australian Photography Awards for 2018, with my image 'From Where We Came' 2018.

    A huge congratulations to the winner, Lisa Saad for her portrait 'Cooper' from her series 'Project 11'.

    You can view all of the finalists here -

    https://www.australianphotographyawards.com.au/galleries/2018-portrait/



    Tags finalist, art prize, photographic art prizw, photographic art prize, art prize finalist, australian photography awards, photography awards, lilli watrs, lilli waters, portrait, landscape, from where we cam




  • THE LUXURY OF LANDSCAPE EXHIBITION, FLORENCE, ITALY
    September 3, 2018

    I am extremely excited to be exhibiting new works at 'The Luxury of Landscape' multi-disciplinary group exhibition at the Pilazzo Pandolfini in Florence, Italy this October.

    A private palazzo in the heart of Florence will host an exclusive exhibition of especially commissioned works by Australian artists, including Doctor Cooper, Claudio and Aneka Manners, across fashion, fine jewellery, light, sound, sculpture and the visual arts, curated together with rare Florentine wine and food experiences.

    The only palace in Florence designed by Raphael, 15th century Palazzo Pandolfini is a historically significant palace hidden in the centre of Florence and incorporating luxurious reception rooms overlooking a stunning secret garden. Owned by the same family over 500 years later, the Palazzo has retained ts original form together with a garden that cultivated several botanical rarities and been awarded prizes by the Società Botanica dell’orticultura [Botanical Society of Horticulture].

    The exhibition opens on the 4th of October and runs until the 18th.

    If you happen to be in Florence, come and say ciao x

    Tags lilli waters, international exhibition, italy exhibition, florence exhibition, the luxury of landscape, pilazzo pandolfini, visual artists, florence, others dream, photographer, photographic artist




  • 'Hyper' Group Exhibition // 222 Roslyn gallery
    July 18, 2018

    I'm excited to be a part of 'Hyper', a multidisciplinary group exhibition at 222 Roslyn gallery curated by Kane Alexander, which looks at vibrant colour, states of bliss, hyper-realness and hyper-feeling.

    With acclaimed artists:

    Tom Adair Derek Swalwell Lilli Waters Lance Delary-Simpson Chris Pennings Elliot Routledge Deams

    Please join us on Wednesday the the 5th of September for the opening night at 222 Rosslyn gallery from 6 - 9pm.

    Hope to see you there!

    222 Rosslyn St, West Melbourne.

    The exhibition will officially open to the public from the 6th - 19th September, 12pm until 5pm, Friday to Saturday.

    Tags melbourne exhibition, hyper, 222 roslyn gallery, gallery, melbourne photographer, melbourne gallery, group exhibition, photographers


  • CORAL LANDS AT SAINT CLOCHE
    June 29, 2018

    I would like to thank to everyone who came to see the Coral Lands exhibition at Saint Cloche in Sydney!!

    A huge thank you to Saint Cloche, Vasette Florals, Hifin Aquarium and friends and family who all contributed to helping create this series.

    For print sales from the series, visit Saint Cloche

    Lilli x



    Tags lilli waters, curatorial and co, artworks, artworks for sale, photography, limited edition print




  • HUNTER & FOLK - LILLI WATERS
    June 25, 2018

    Art Talk // Hunter & Folk

    Lilli Waters is passionate about making a change in the way we see marine life and coral, whilst also encouraging more people to help make a difference in the impact humans have on the ocean. The Award-winning Australian photographic artist has unveiled her latest exhibition entitled Coral Lands, which is on at Saint Cloche Gallery in Sydney, following on from her previous successful exhibition of works, Plastic Fish. Water’s latest body of work showcases coral, marine animals and other plants to create familiar yet surreal landscapes. Bright colours and sunset backgrounds contrasting with the lively coral and fish create a mystical, ethereal feel. The exhibition is on until the 1st of July, so be sure to pop in.

    Tags artist profile, lilli waters, hunter and folk, interview, artist interview, coral lands, exhibition, sydney exhibition, sydney gallery, saint cloche




  • VOGUE LIVING - Lilli Waters
    June 21, 2018

    VOGUE LIVING // Meet the female artist who will make you think twice about your impact on the ocean

    by Francesca Wallis

    Lilli Waters’ ethereal photographs bridge the gap between what we see and what we do. As her name suggests, artist Lilli Waters has an affinity with the ocean. Creating a series of otherworldly, surreal photographs for her body of work, titled Coral Lands, Waters has managed to artfully combine the fragility of the ocean with the colour and vibrancy of its inhabitants. Asking her audience to reassess their impact on coral, Waters’s work goes beyond the traditional and transcends into something wonderfully sublime and futuristic — all the while using natural, tactile pieces to craft her sets. We spoke with Waters ahead of the opening of Coral Lands at Saint Cloche in Sydney, to discuss all things practice, art and yes, Fifty Shades.

    On her exhibition at Saint Cloche? Coral Lands is an underwater photography series, a collection of nine works that were all photographed using large water tanks. They feature coral alongside florals, bright colours and night sky backdrops, creating familiar yet dream like vignettes. My intention with this body of work was to try to create otherworldly landscapes visualising strange underwater fantasy worlds. It involved months of planning and was basically one big experiment.

    On her practice and inspiration My practice is in fine art photography, and my work has largely focused on portraits – mostly of women – and more recently still life. Mother nature, art and music have always been my main muses for creating. I was a musician for fourteen years, but I don't play anymore.

    On how she hopes her audience see her work I hope that the works resonate with people in a way that they can immerse themselves for a moment in these intriguing underwater worlds. It is also my hope that this series draws the viewer into the strange beauty and acute fragility of coral and that it highlights the devastating impact of climate change on our oceans and the precious life within it.

    On the most unexpected places her work has been shown Two of my photographs are featured in Christian Grey’s apartment in Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed: one in his bedroom and another in his dining room. It was pretty surreal seeing my work in such huge films. The limited edition prints almost sold out after their release, and the author of the books ordered a huge print for her mansion in LA, which is still something I pinch myself over!

    On the artists she's inspired by I’m actually inspired more by painters rather than other photographers. Three contemporary female artists whose work I love and really resonate with are Heidi Yardley, Elizabeth Barnett, and my absolute favourite artist at the moment, Del Kathryn Barton. There’s something dark and sexy about Yardley’s work — the way she depicts fractured female forms which are mesmerising, melancholy, familiar and strange all at the same time. Barnett’s colourful still lifes are comforting and so full of nostalgic joy; they make you want to live in her paintings, like a coming home to a familiar armchair and a pot of tea. Barton’s work is unashamedly feminine. Her figurative imagery is so vibrant and colourful. She has this extraordinary ability to create dream-like kaleidoscopic worlds in a really raw and honest way.

    Coral Lands is open until July 1, 2018 at Saint Cloche in Sydney.

    See full article here

    Tags coral lands, vogue artist, vogue living, vogue, vogue magazine, artist, artist profile, artist interview, interview, photographer, photographic artist




  • The Design Files - Lilli Waters
    June 21, 2018

    TDF - Lilli Waters' underwater Coral Lands

    by Sally Tabart

    An exhibition of ethereal works from Melbourne-based photographer Lilli Waters exploring underwater lands.

    Underwater landscapes and their inhabiting creatures have long been a source of mysticism and wonderment. Disney’s The Little Mermaid invited us to explore the treasures of a mermaid’s world, David Attenborough’s Blue Planet is one of the most widely-loved documentary series of all time, and the idea of the mythical underwater city, Atlantis, has fascinated human’s since Plato’s Socratic dialogues.

    Lilli Waters’ latest exhibition, Coral Lands, explores the strange beauty in deep ocean realms and the fragility of marine life. Coral, live rock and flowers combined with bright colours and night sky backgrounds have been used to create Lilli’s own underwater wonderlands. Elements of lunar influence are also felt through the presence of stars and moons in Lilli’s works, in part symbolising the cyclic, debilitating mood disorder she experiences as a sufferer of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.

    Combining these elements with bright colours and night sky backdrops, Lilli has created extraordinary, otherworldly landscapes. The themes in Coral Lands are an extension of her 2017 exhibition, Plastic Fish, and continues to draw attention to the devastating impact humans have on ocean life.

    Coral Lands Lilli Waters June 20th-July 1st

    Saint Cloche 37 Macdonald Street Paddington, New South Wales

    Tags tdf, the design files, lilli waters, photographic artist, photographer, coral lands, interview, artist interview, design




  • Coral Lands opens tomorrow!
    June 19, 2018

    My underwater photography solo exhibition Coral Lands opens at Saint Cloche tomorrow!!

    If you’re in Sydney, I would love to see your faces on opening night from 6-8pm.

    Come join me for a drink 🍷

    Saint Cloche, 37 McDonald St, Paddington, NSW Exhibition runs from 20th June - 1st July

    For the full Catalogue, email info@saintcloche.com

    Download PDF - CoralLands_SaintCloche_Cat_v2a.pdf

    Coral has long been a source of fascination and mystery for early philosophers and scientists. Theophrastus, Aristotle’s pupil included them in both his book on stones, and in his Enquiries on Plants describing them as “large stony plants that reveal bright flowers when under water.” .

    Pliny the elder described coral as being “neither animals nor plants, but are possessed of a third nature.”

    Printing by Thirds Fine Art Printing Coral kindly supplied by James at Hifin Aquarium Florals supplied by Vasette

    Photo by Hilary Walker

    Tags coral lands, exhibition, sydney gallery, sydney exhibition, lilli waters, photographic artwork, artwork, saint cloche, limited edition prints




  • Coral Lands - Upcoming Solo Exhibition
    May 18, 2018

    I am very very excited to announce my upcoming solo exhibition CORAL LANDS at Saint Cloche in Sydney this Winter. This series has been a work in progress for the past six months and I can't wait to show it to you. If you're in Sydney on the 20th of June, I would love to see your faces at the opening night for a drink!

    Exhibiting at Saint Cloche, Sydney

    Opening night 20th June 6-8pm 37 MacDonald St, Paddington NSW Australia 20th June - 1st July 2018

    www.saintcloche.com

    Below: 'Lucid Orchid Dream' from Coral Lands

    Tags coral lands, still life, underwater photography, lilli waters, exhibition, sydney exhibition, saint cloche, photographic series, photographer, photographic artist, limited edition prints, prints for sale


  • ABC Art Bites: 'Mirror'
    April 17, 2018

    ABC ART BITES ‘MIRROR’ documentary series - 2018

    ‘Six Australian artists embark on a nostalgic journey back to a place of their past to confront memories that will inspire a self-portrait work.’ - ABC ARTS

    I was born on a rural counter-culture community in Wytaliba, about 100 kilometres out of Canberra, where everyone grew their own produce on the land and washed and swam in the river. I travelled back to this place for the first time since leaving as a baby, to piece together the fleeting moments of my parents relationship and to find the mud brick home that they built together when I was a baby.

    I created two self portraits in this beautiful and haunting place. One in the river where my mother swam when she was pregnant with me and one other in the mud brick house my parents built.

    Stepping foot in my old house, which had now been reclaimed by nature, was a sad and beautiful thing. These self portraits for me was a collation of all of my feelings about returning to this place.”

    You can view the full episode on iview -

    https://iview.abc.net.au/show/art-bites-mirror/series/0/video/AC1705Q001S00

    A huge huge thank you to Producer Kate Paul, Director Brodie Poole, Cameraman Dave May & the ABC for this extraordinarily incredible and once in a lifetime experience, one I will treasure in my memory & heart for always.



    Tags abc, abc iview, art bites, abc art bites, mirrir, mirror, abc documentary, artist, lilli waters, photographer, photographic artist, australian artist




  • 'Mirror' ABC Art Bites documentary
    April 12, 2018

    I am very excited to announce that the 'Mirror' ABC Art Bites episode which was based on my childhood story is now available to watch on ABC iview.

    I am extremely humbled to be a part of this incredible once in a lifetime opportunity, and to be invited to create a self portrait in my childhood home for this episode was an incredibly special experience.

    You can view the full episode here

    Tags abc tv, abc arts, arts, iview, abc, mirror, abc documentary, lilli waters, photographic artist, artist, photographer, self portrait, art bites, abc iview




  • Lens Culture Portrait Award 2017
    March 11, 2018

    'Dress & War #6' has been voted one of the top rated entries for the Lens Culture Portrait Awards for 2017.

    Tags lilli waters, photographer, lens culture, portrait, portrait award




  • Fifty Shades Freed
    February 21, 2018

    Fifty Shades Freed, sequel to Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker, has just been released in Cinemas worldwide, with the ‘Anja #22’ and ‘She Raw #21’ print featured in the dining room of Christian Grey’s apartment.

    Take a full tour of Grey's apartment here

    Tags fifty shades freed, fifty shades darker, fifty shades of grey, lilli waters, photographic artwork, limited edition print, christian grey, christian greys apartment, artwork, universal pictures, anja 22, greys apartment




  • Art Aesthetica Art Prize Finalist 2018
    February 1, 2018

    ‘In Dreams’ from tje Plastic Fish series has been selected as a finalist in the Art Aesthetica Art Prize for 2018.

    ‘In Dreams’ will be screened in the Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition 17 May - 30 September, York Art Gallery, UK, and featured in the Art Aesthetica Prize Anthology.

    The book showcases the work of 100 of the most exciting artists from around the world and is a dynamic guide to International Contemporary Art.

    Tags art aesthetica, melbourne photographer, photographer, photographic artist, finalist, art prize, plastic fish, australian artist


  • 2017



  • Irisi Magazine - LILLI WATERS
    December 21, 2017

    Irisi Magazine

    An interview with Melbourne-based photographic artist and filmmaker Lilli Waters by Mairead Warren

    One dark wintry day in Sydney, whilst aimlessly browsing on my instagram feed, I discovered Lilli’s work. Her provocative and inspiring image series ‘Plastic Fish’ instantly cut through to me, even amidst the flurry of images on my visually overloaded device.

    Juxtaposing the world of selfies and filtered life porn, the images were arresting. They made me consider the tough and complicated discourse surrounding contemporary representations of beauty.

    As a millennial I am greatly exposed to the rise of digital media and the control it allows us in styling and creating a personal image, which involves packaging the stories of our life into neat little parcels edited perfectly to please. It has become a fierce engine of self love, that can venture into toxic self loathing, and ultimately leads so many people to the conclusion – what or who am I doing this for?

    The depths and shallows in Lilli’s work can stimulate this discussion, or they can bedazzle you with illusion and allure. Lilli says of the works ‘At first glance these images may appear to be reminiscent of still-life paintings – colourful and vibrant – but hidden (and sometimes not so hidden) are manmade materials like plastic. Plastic has found its way into every corner of our planet, it's even in our water. The plastic in these works itself has a beauty, but inherent in its presence is a darker, more destructive side.’

    The work also makes comment on the state of our environment, Lilli shared with me that ‘The themes are somewhat subtle but I feel like most people sensed that the works were making a comment on the state of our current environment when they looked a bit closer.’

    On the core message of the work and what the artist wanted it to reflect about society in 2017, Lilli shared ‘We live in a time where things aren’t made to last, and consumerism is the driving force behind our society. Objects we buy need to break regularly and be replaced for the system to keep functioning.’

    Further to exploring the interesting and contemporary topics in the work, they are technical masterpieces and I decided to delve into understanding the process and inspiration behind the series. I asked Lilli the questions below:

    How did you choose the subject matter for your photographic series Plastic Fish? I'm a big lover of water and am fascinated with the beauty and complexity of plants, so it seemed like the next step for me was to attempt making a body of work exploring and combining these elements.

    Where did the inspiration for your imagery come from? This series came from a thought of “could I photograph flowers underwater?" This idea then merged with my fascination with the beauty and fragility of underwater creatures. There were many visits to markets and aquariums to find inspiration.

    How did you use light and dark to tell a story in the series? I have always used a lot of darkness in my images, though this series embraces a more vivid colour, which often sits amongst dark shadows. The colours are sometimes almost fluorescent and not quite natural, vibrant and fantastical yet somehow not at ease.

    Was your commercial work an influence on how you approached Plastic Fish? Yes. Usually I utilise natural light and focus on female subjects for my work, but I have found a new fascination with working in the studio using controlled lighting & being able to slow down the photo making process. Plastic Fish was photographed in this way and required quite an elaborate setup.

    Plastic Fish is now out in the public domain. Has this altered the way you think or feel about the work? When these works emerged, they were not at all what I had pictured in my mind throughout the preparation. Now that they are hanging in people's homes and on gallery walls, I'm glad that I took the plunge and delved into such colourful & vibrant works. Experimenting for me is almost always going to lead to mixed feelings about the work.

    Is the series complete? Yes, it was exhibited in a two week solo show at Junior Space Gallery in September. There were four works printed quite large, the largest I have printed for a show.

    What are the main things that you’ve learnt about your craft through the process of Plastic Fish? Shooting underwater involves a lot of challenges and several trips to Bunnings. I learnt that it is in fact possible to eventually get the shot with fish that swim really fast!

    ---

    Plastic Fish is currently on show at The Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery in exhibition STILL: National Still Life Award 2017.

    Tags irisi magazine, magazine, online magazine, lilli waters, interview, artist interview, photographer, photographic artist




  • Contemporary Art Awards Finalist 2018
    December 18, 2017

    I am very excited to be announced as a Finalist in the 2018 Contemporary Art Award, with two images from the underwater Plastic Fish series, ‘In Dreams’ and ‘Our Love is Plastic’.

    The online exhibition will run from 11 Jan until 11 June 2018.

    Tags contemporary art awards, finalist, art award, australian art award, australian photographer, melbourne exhibition, melbourne photographer, lilli waters, online exhibition


  • Hunter & Folk - Lilli Waters
    November 10, 2017

    Art Talk // Lilli Waters

    by Hande Renshaw

    Melbourne-based award winning photographic artist and filmmaker Lilli Waters' photographs can easily be mistaken for paintings. Lilli's love for the Renaissance era and her muse Bill Henson, is evident in her photography, which captures layers of colour, shadow and beautiful depth. We sat down with Lilli to find out about her photographic journey and why nature's elusive beauty is such a major inspiration in her work.

    Hi Lilli, tell us about when your love for photography was first sparked? Funnily enough, when I walked out of a really bad job in 2011 and couldn't find any work for six months, I took advantage of the spare hours I had on my hands and photographed my first series, Intrinsic Storms. I tied my old medium format film camera to a piece of timber, placed it over the top of a mezzanine in an old factory I was living in at the time, threaded some wire through some tubing to make an extended cable release, lay down on the concrete floor and layered the film scans with images I'd taken of stormy skies together in Photoshop. It was first time I had really allowed myself to play creatively with photo-making since studying photography nine years earlier.

    Do you have a muse? Music has always been my main muse for creating. I was a musician for fourteen years, but I don't play anymore. I honestly can't picture my world without it, and am always listening to a specific artist throughout the process of creating a body of work. This helps to guide me and can really influence the mood of the work.

    I've also greatly admired the work of photographer Bill Henson. The mysterious and powerful themes he portrays around youth and nature have always drawn me in, and his use of blacks, dark colours and shadowing remind me of some romantic but unsettling paintings from the Renaissance, which I so love.

    Your photos are so wonderfully moody and evocative, how do you achieve this unique quality? Oh thank you, that's very kind of you to say! My aim is to recreate a fantastical scene inside the little frame of my camera. I often wait until the last flicker of dying light and then work quickly, as it doesn't seem to want to play for too long, leaving me a window of ten minutes or so until it's too dark for my camera to focus. It's often a lot of impatiently waiting for a mad rush. I’m definitely less of a technician and more someone who is driven by a spontaneous stream of light or a gust of wind, which tells me a storm is coming.

    Tell us about your creative process - do you work intuitively or is it planned? The creative process for me comes in stages; ideas that are mulled over a glass of wine, listening to a favourite album, finding a time and a place, and the rest seems to sort itself out. My work is sometimes planned but I also love to allow things to happen naturally. I feel like you can plan as much as you like, but in the end, the images will most likely never come out the way you had imagined in your head. Manipulation of the original image is a huge part of my process. Sometimes I pick elements from a series of images, layering them to create the final work, and, much like I imagine a painter might feel, at times it's hard to know when it's finished.

    What are you most passionate about? Nature. I was born on a commune in Wytaliba in NSW - there was no electricity, everyone grew their own produce on the land and the river was where people washed and swam. I now live in the city, but still constantly yearn to be out in the bush and close to the water. I can’t seem to get enough of nature’s elusive beauty and I feel most at home in her arms.

    What are you loving at the moment? My pottery classes, the book The Body Keeps the Score - my current bible, making homemade kombucha, spring flowers on every corner in my neighbourhood and delving into old R.E.M albums.

    What’s in store for you for the rest of this year? I'm very excited to be filmed for an episode of Art Bites on the ABC in November. I am also in the early stages of preparing for my next solo exhibition happening next year at Saint Cloche Gallery in Sydney. The plan at this stage is to create a body of work that follows on from my most recent Plastic Fish underwater series.

    Tags magazine, blog, art blog, design blog, design, hunter and folk, photographer, interview, lilli waters, photographic artist, melbourne photographer


  • The Opera Magazine Vol VI
    November 9, 2017

    After being featured in Volume III of this extraordinarily beautiful magazine, I am so amazingly humbled to have works from the series 'As the World Falls Down' featured in the newly released Vol. VI publication of 'The Opera Magazine for Classic & Contemporary Nude Photography' for 2017, printed in Germany & featuring so many incredibly talented photographers from all over the world.



    Tags nudes, the opera magazine, lilli waters, art magazine, magazine, nude photography




  • 'Mirror Mirror' ABC Art Bites series filming in Wytaliba, NSW
    October 3, 2017

    I’m finding it hard to put into words the mixed feelings & overwhelming emotions I’ve experienced over the last few days, exploring for the first time since I was a baby, the Wytaliba commune I lived on.

    I managed to find the mud brick house that my mother & father built with their bare hands, the orchard that they planted & the same swimming hole my mother bathed in when she was pregnant with me.

    I want to thank from the bottom of my heart Producer @katepaul_inc Director @brodie_mmm Cameraman @davetallstory & local resident Carol Sparks for giving me this very surreal and once in a lifetime opportunity.

    ‘Mirror Mirror’ ABC Art Bites series screens in April 2018.

    To my partner in crime & love of my life Jacob, thank you for your genius ness, overwhelming support and for being by my side through the ups and downs, the tears and the joy of every moment I was lucky enough to spend in this magical place, I will carry it in my heart always xx

    Tags lilli waters, photographer, abc, art bites, wytaliba, commune, film, abc tv


  • Return to my Wytaliba childhood home on film
    October 2, 2017

    Stills taken onsite my Wytaliba childhood home.

    'Mirror' Art Bites series screens on the ABC in April 2018.



    Tags art bites, lilli waters, wytaliba, commune, abc, photographer, film


  • Opening night for STILL: National Still Life Award
    September 30, 2017

    Unbelievably humbled to be a part of STILL: National Still Life Award opening night at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery tonight!

    I was blown away by the extremely high calibre of talent in one room!!

    A huge congratulations to winner Sarah Goffman with her beautiful contemporary reproductions of ceramic pieces using plastic, so very clever & what a gorgeous acceptance speech.

    A huge thanks the judge Lisa Slade, curator Jo Besley & Co-ordinator Cath Fogarty, as well as all of the helpers & volunteers for putting on such a wonderful evening, what an incredible honour.

    The STILL exhibition at Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery will run from November until January 18th 2018.

    Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, Rigby House, Cnr Coff & Duke Sts, Coffs Harbour.

    'Our Love is Plastic' from the Plastic Fish series is a finalist amongst 62 amazing artworks.

    Here are all of the finalists.



    Tags plastic fish, lilli waters, photography, underwater photography, national still life award, art award, coffs harbour, our love is plastic, photographer




  • Finalist - National Still Life Award
    September 29, 2017

    I am completely and utterly surprised and humbled to learn that I have been selected as a finalist in the National Still Life Award with my image 'Our Love is Plastic' 2017, Archival Pigment print, 115.15 x 111.21cm.

    Opening night at the Coffs Harbour Regional Gallery, 25th November.

    The Still: National Still Life Award 2017is a newly biennial, acquisitive award for works in the genre of still life, in all mediums, and is open to artists at all stages of their careers.

    The Award offers $20,000 for the major award and $5,000 for the People’s Choice Award.

    Still seeks to highlight the diversity and vitality of still life in Australian contemporary art practice, broadening the interpretation of this enduring genre. With art historian Frances Woodley’s definition that still life is “the representation of objects in space in relation to a surface … a representation, a reflection, a transformation and a revelation of the objects around us” as a starting point, the award encourages artists to explore, among others, still life themes of ‘memento mori’, the everyday and the passage of time, life and death.

    The 2017 Finalists:

    Tony Albert, Louise Allerton, Kelly Austin, Tanya Baily, Elie Begg, Annette Blair, Rene Bolten, Mechelle Bounpraseuth, Terri Butterworth, Fran Callen, Tom Carment, Angela Casey, Tiffany Cole, Karl de Waal, Trisha Dean, Mary Donnelly, Scott Duncan, Sarah Edmondson, Nicolette Eisdell, Merran Esson, Ben Fayle, Guy Gilmour, Sarah Goffman, Ronnie Grammatica, Linda Greedy, Colleen Greig-Canty, Vanessa Holle, Alana Hunt, Susan Jacobsen, Laura Jones, Helle Jorgensen, Paul Kalemba, Laura E. Kennedy, Myriam Kin-Yee, Zai Kuang, Michael Langley, Sam Leach, Kellie Leczinska, Alison Mackay, Josh Mackenzie, Kiata Mason, Julian Meagher, Robert Moore, Stephen Nothling, Susan O'Doherty, Sarah O'Sullivan, Sassy Park, Victoria Reichelt, Elvis Richardson, Damien Shen, Brendan Smith, Tim Snowdon, Richard Spoehr, Vipoo Srivilasa, Nathan Taylor, Samantha Thompson, Anselm van Rood, Prue Venables, Lilli Waters, Kati Watson, Greg Weight, Mirra Whale, Cleo Wilkinson

    Tags still life, national still life award, lilli waters, art award, australian artist, australian photographer, photographic artist, photographer, underwater photography




  • Plastic Fish Exhibition
    September 22, 2017

    21st September — 3rd October, 2017 Junior Space 65 Smith Street, Fitzroy

    THANK YOU to all the lovely people for coming to the Plastic Fish opening on the 21st! It was a full house!!

    Huge thank you's to my sponsors Icon Frames for the gorgeous black hand-made frames, Kayell Australia for the beautiful Platine Rag paper, and delicious Fury & Son and Starward Whiskey for quenching everyone's thirsts.

    Thank you to legends Tim & Ness from Thirds Fine Art Printing for their persistence & incredible help in getting these prints looking their best.

    Plastic Fish is is on until the 3rd of October at Junior Space, 65 Smith St Fitzroy, open Tues - Sat.

    Lill x



    ARTISTS STATEMENT -

    Plastic Fish is an underwater photographic series with still life botanical arrangements and living creatures existing alongside man made plastics, seeking to represent a truth and vulnerability of the current state of our natural world.

    This series of images is an invitation into a vibrant world abundant with iridescent objects, where fish dwell amongst opulent florals, an illusion of beauty & life.

    Depth and space evoke a sense of the mysterious and time appears to slow down.

    Beneath the surface, beauty reveals a darker truth, fragility, futility and the acute vulnerability of nature at the hands of humans, as we overwhelm all living things with our own disposable culture.

    Tags melbourne exhibition, plastic fish, art exhibition, lilli waters, photography exhibition, still life, underwater photography




  • The Design Files
    September 21, 2017

    TDF - Lilli Waters & Jacob Cole

    by Lucy Feagins

    Today we visit the home of photographic artist Lilli Waters and her husband Jake Cole, a musician, in Pascoe Vale in Melbourne’s North.

    The house-proud couple have been living in their much loved two bedroom art deco house for around 18 months. Together, they’ve created a warm, eclectic, multi-layered home which speaks to their many passions – art and photography, music, food, friends and pets!

    The Pascoe Vale home of photographic artist Lilli Waters and her husband Jake Cole, a musician, is full of character and creative energy. Here, amongst a jungle of luscious indoor plants and a seriously impressive collection of op-shop treasure, Lilli’s haunting photographic artworks adorn the walls, alongside artworks and handcrafted objects by creative family and friends. Lilli also has a home studio here, whilst Jake’s ever-expanding guitar and amp collection slowly commands more floorspace!

    ‘The deal was when we moved in, that I got the second bedroom as my studio, and poor Jake got the linen cupboard for his giant collection of guitar pedals’ Lilli explains. ‘He loves that cupboard, it’s like his man den, or in his case, man cupboard’.

    The pair previously lived in nearby Brunswick West, and were initially a little nervous about venturing into a new suburb. ‘We looked at so many houses in the area, and this one was the only one we loved’ recalls Lilli. ‘I remember after a weekend of house inspections, feeling so depressed at the falling apart shacks we had seen, we sent an email to the real estate on a Sunday basically begging for them to accept us, and they did!’. The pair wasted no time in making their new surroundings feel like home, establishing a veggie garden, and decorating with a varied mix of furniture, textiles and art.

    ‘You will probably be able to tell that I am quite the collector, and a bit of an op-shop nut’ Lilli confesses. ‘I’ve been collecting old stuff for about 15 years now, which is strange, because my parents were both op-shop home reno addicts and I used to hate op shops when I was a kid, I’d sit in the Kingswood bored out of my brain, but I guess it washed off!’

    Lilli and Jake are also big collectors of local artwork, and have amassed a huge collection of paintings and photographs by talented family and friends. Amongst these are artworks by Lilli’s sister Camille Moir Smith of Carpenter’s Daughter, her mother Mali Moir’s botanical paintings, as well as paintings and prints by Bobby Clarke, Sarah Hendy & Lisa Sorgini to name a few. Alongside these much loved pieces are a few restored artworks too, including a sad poppy painting that was torn and left abandoned in a secondhand hand shop, but which Lilli rescued and had restored. ‘It’s as good as new!’ Lilli says! ‘I love finding old things and giving them life again… it reminds me of how something abandoned and broken can always be fixed and loved again.’

    Lilli and Jake love coming home to their house, and feel it is a a space which really nurtures both of their creative spirits. ‘I’m very much drawn to the organic feel of this house’ Lilli muses. ‘It has such a warm feeling, and makes you feel safe and at home as soon as you walk in the door’.

    ‘We are renting, but we love spending time on making our home a beautiful and warm place to come home to, where we can grow things in our garden, create & make music.’

    See more here

    Tags the design files, lilli waters, photographer, photographic artist, tdf, design, real homes


  • Plastic Fish Opening Night
    September 16, 2017

    I am very excited to be a part of the Curatorial & Co. family as a new artist today!!

    https://curatorialandco.com/lilli-waters/


    Tags lilli waters, photographer, photographic artist, still life, artworks, exhibition, art exhibition, photographic prints, plastic fish, our love is plastic, the other side


  • Curatorial & Co.
    January 2, 2017

    I am very excited to be a part of the Curatorial & Co. family as a new artist today!!

    https://curatorialandco.com/lilli-waters/


    Tags lilli waters, curatorial and co, artworks, artworks for sale, photography, limited edition print






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