Not often do you encounter images of striking and unique beauty but Frederick Murray’s large scale photographic work of Lake Eyre (or better of the void, the space) definitely gives you a glimpse of something otherworldly. Tonight, Creative Social hosts Deepend invited one of their favourite collaborators to speak about the images he creates in solitude and in the middle of absolute flatness with nothing but a 360° horizon.
Salt 151, by Frederick Murray
all right reserved by Frederick Murray, linked to from images for sale on artnet
Working in the desert for weeks with nothing other than the automatic shutter clicking (for time lapse footage) can make your mind wander to far away places. It sounded like a “2001 – Space Odyssey” state of being, you know, the psychedelic end bit, not the “I’m sorry, but I cannot do that, Dave” moments. Russ thought of plenty of opportunities to interact with an audience while working and making a documentary about it (twitter from a satellite phone anyone?). I would be keen on new ways of presenting the work.
Luckily, Frederick has his own views and doesn’t have to listen to us nerds… He shot and produced an HD documentary of his process and time on Lake Eyre, mostly in still frames with hardly any panning of the camera. Judging from the teaser he showed us, it is going to be pretty engaging. It is going to headline the Adelaide Film Festival documentary section in february of 2009 and as far as I understand, it is going to air on the ABC after that.
Frederick’s new project involves taking photos of what he calls ‘the new landscapes that global warming creates’, e.g. the Murray River bed drying out or Tasmania’s deforestation. Beautifully shot yet obviously ambiguous in their effect on the viewer.
Between 0 and 1 
Fantastic talk Murray. Very inspiring
Yes, get in now before his work becomes unafforable (not that it is cheap now).