Pied-a-Terre
Saint Cloche, Sydney
13 - 24 January 2021

Pied-à-terre – A charming, intoxicating world of vibrant colour and opulence inspired by the enchanting post world-war II imagery of friend and photographer to the jet-setter elite of the 50’s – 70’s, Slim Aarons.

Before the new age of social media, it was the American photographer Slim Aarons’ pursuit for capturing perfection in captivating idyllic settings that defined a golden era of postwar celebrity which made him the pioneer of the modern day ‘influencer’. Aarons famously describes his practice as “attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places.” His images of heirs and heiresses, princes and princesses, actors and actresses, jet-setters extraordinaire lounging poolside in Antibes, apres-ski in Gstaad, on the patio in Palm Springs poolside would be coined in today as ‘Gone Viral’, appeared in a wide array of sought after magazines including, Life, Adventure, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, Holiday, Look and in his own book, A Wonderful Time.

In this show I was particularly focused on capturing what might be occurring in between Aarons’ iconic photography. Drinks set down, cigarettes left to burn, a book laying poolside with a drink as though the reader had just risen to a dip or to welcome guests. I thought it interesting that honest moments still occur in manufactured settings, and tell the most human stories. In a time where everything we do is documented and consumed, is there still a place for the shiny end product, or is our collective fascination with the banal a hint of craved authenticity?