Chile’s jaw-dropping Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar desert in the world.
Made up mostly of stony terrain, salt lakes and felsic lava, it’s so otherworldly looking that it’s perhaps not surprising that it’s often used as an experimentation site on Earth for Mars expedition simulations.
Australian artist and photographer Rae Begley was given the chance to take part in an enviable artist residency in the indigenous community of Coyo in the Atacama Desert, and it was there that she undertook demanding expeditions of the region, capturing incredible scenes in the process. These alien natural forms made up a majority of the work in her new exhibition, On a quiet day, I can hear her breathinga series of photographs that reflects on Earth as a living organism.
Expansive natural landforms from the desert to the mountains are captured using film photography, printed by hand to transport you to some of the most remote regions on Earth. At times, Rae captures human interference in these landscapes—an empty wooden structure sitting anchored in the stones, a half-submerged manmade structure sinking into the snow—revealing humans’ tendency to act quickly to impose ourselves in the natural environment, and slow to protect the Earth from destruction at our own hands.
It’s a mind-blowing series that will remind you of all the wonders of the world that lie beyond your computer screen, and you should definitely go and check it out if you’re in Sydney from the 10th of August until the 4th of September at Woollahra Gallery, Redleaf.
RAE BEGLEY, ON A QUIET DAY, I CAN HEAR HER BREATHING
10 AUGUST – 4 SEPTEMBER 2022
WOOLLAHRA GALLERY AT REDLEAF