MIRROR, New Views on Photography

MIRROR: New views on photography showcases over 140 photographs from the State Collection, alongside creative responses from emerging and established Victorian storytellers to tell fascinating tales of Victoria through a contemporary lens.  The library wanted to show that their collection is a much more diverse and rich resource than what the general public might have imagined, that it is available for all Victorians to access, research as well as use and that their conservation and archival activities are more complex than just storing books on book-shelves.

For the campaign all 140 photographs from the State Collection were photographed in the context of their physical storage – in the archives and conservation facilities shining light on what is usually out of view for the general public. The campaign juxtaposed both, the photographs as images against a colored background accompanied with their corresponding library meta-data and the documentation of photographs as archival objects. A large amount of diverse assets have been developed without a single image becoming the hero image but rather the State Libraries entire collection becoming the hero.

The exhibition consisted solely of projections accompanied with sound. Accessibility for all audiences was a major concern for the client. For the exhibition all photographs were documented in the context of their physical storage – in the archives and conservation facilities – shining light on what is usually out of view. The ‘BTS’ documentation was shown in dedicated projection rooms as a prelude to the newly commissioned works. The new works were shown in an immersive setting with multiple image and video projections and accompanying audio design. The design of the projections themselves remained strictly neutral with accessibility concerns at the forefront, with subtitles, Auslan interpretations and visual captioning becoming visual devices on their own.