The photographer uses a recurring motif of a white floating sheet. The figure connotes the brief journey of a life energy morphing from one form to another. Goldie loves contemplating the moments when, while everybody is tucked up in bed, the incredible machinations of the universe continue to happen all around – usually unseen and uninterrupted.
Curator Arthur Chan says: “Andrew takes viewers into a perplexing circumstance where they are witness to a beautiful yet bizarre metamorphism and are forced to create their own narratives.”
“Andrew Goldie has brought together his many years of experience in both visual art and commercial photography to create perfect imagery with amazing thought and intent. Pushing the boundaries of photography through his use of light and ability to create and then capture a surreal moment, his images are a reflection of his mind’s eye,” Chan says.
Recent fatherhood, the experience of witnessing the birth of a tiny human being – his son – arrive in this world, has profoundly influenced the work, which is a creative expression of the “wonderment about where we come from and where the human spirit goes when it leaves this place”.
Transformation was made with the help of a dedicated team of assistants, assigned to carrying well over 100kg of gear including cameras, lighting, booms, generators and computers.
“I didn’t want to be limited about the production so we prepared well and took the most powerful lighting and gear possible into the chosen environment to create these beautiful moments. No location was unattainable and I was prepared to experiment. Now I think about it, I was lucky none of us was seriously injured, as I love to work on the edge of cliffs and other risky places for some reason. Even my assistants sometimes think I’m a bit crazy as they look on. Once I did shed blood slipping on rocks carrying flash packs and a generator weighing that of another person,” Goldie says.
Goldie was winner of the New York Exposure Conceptual Art Award, 2012, with a selection of work from this series. In the past 10 years he has worked and exhibited in Europe, Asia and Australia. He has also photographed many Australian and international personalities including Richard Branson, Malcolm Turnbull, Larry Emdur, Karl Stefanovic and sporting figures Anthony Minichiello, Mike Whitney, Sam Reid, Anthony Mundine and Olympic Medalist Matthew Mitcham. He lives in Bronte.
