Jill Crossley was born in 1929 on a sheep station in Western Australia. She and her brother would watch their father processing photographic prints of his stud sheep in pyrex dishes and a washbasin. It was her dream to become a portrait photographer. She went on to build a very successful, life-long photographic career.
In this exquisite and subtle exhibition, Beyond Looking, the intricate weavings and shapes of common plants and bushes of the NSW Central Coast (where the artist now lives), become objects of close scrutiny. These abstractions offer a contemplative view of both the complexity and simplicity of natural forms.
Jill Crossley has returned to her love of black-and-white photography after working with colour in her previous exhibition. She uses a small digital camera with a zoom lens.
The artist has worked as a freelance commercial photographer in the areas of portraiture, magazine and book illustration; as well as photographing artworks, crafts and sculpture for artists and regional galleries and publishers. She has worked for magazines including Art in Australia and for the ABC Studios at Gore Hill doing production stills for plays, musical productions, panel discussions and concerts. In 1980 she started exhibiting in solo shows at the Australian Centre for Photography (1980), David Reid Gallery in Paddington (1981) and the Studio Gallery in Brisbane (1982).
From 1957-58 Crossley worked as an assistant to photographer Max Dupain whose high aesthetic standards were an inspiration. Dupain once reviewed her exhibition at David Reid Gallery, saying: “It would be safe to say that this little exhibition of photographs is one of the most consequential of its kind we have witnessed for some time.”
Photographer, writer and critic, Robert McFarlane, called Crossley “a tenacious, talented, photographer” when reviewing her exhibition at Kerrie Lowe Gallery in 2010.
Jill Crossley is featured in the groundbreaking publication Australian Women Photographers 1840-1960 (Barbara Hall and Jenni Mather, first published 1981) alongside other luminaries such as Olive Cotton.
