So to live as to dream

In this exhibition by the Victorian-based photographer Les Walkling, light is used as an emotive force – the luminosity of his work reflecting his intense feeling for the subject. He prefers to use natural light rather than artificial studio illumination, carefully choosing appropriate qualities to evoke particular feelings. Walkling’s control over this aspect of his picturemaking extends to his printing of the photograph, with the exceptionally wide range of lustrous grey tones heightening the emotional impact of the images.

Using subjects which are both intimate and private, along with scenes from a more public domain, Walkling creates a personalised vision of the world which unfolds for the view like pages in a book. The ‘frontispiece’ to the exhibition – a portrait of a young woman seated on a bed – establishes the contemplative nature of much of the work which follows. The woman depicted does not meet our gaze but remains self-contained, her mood pf quiet introspection pervaded by a sense of ineffable sadness or loss. Her reflective character is alluded to in the title of the photograph (and the exhibition) ‘So to live as to dream‘.

Sourced from: Crombie, Isobel and Walkling, Les. So to Live as to Dream: Photographs by Les Walkling. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 1990.