Somewhere City by Tim Denoon

By Benjamen Judd

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As part of the annual Art and About festival in Sydney, local photographer and documenter of daily life, Tim Denoon, is holding his second exhibition Somewhere City on October 8 at the Gallery Mercure in Potts Point.

For many people today, Sydney’s red light district Kings Cross is synonymous with the more questionable elements that make up a city – sex, drugs and general hedonism. But for many others, Kings Cross (technically, Darlinghurst) is a crossroads where the various levels of city life intersect, connecting on to the more affluent areas of Potts Point and Surry Hills and hub with a rich tradition of producing some of Australia’s most influential (and controversial) artists. It’s a state that exists in a creative intensity, yet still manages to produce moments of stillness where affects and eddies of locality wash over the body. It is these moments that Tim has captured in his pictures, that perfect stillness in the bustling matrix of Sydney’s underground.

We got a chance to chat to Tim about his work and what propelled him to explore Kings Cross and it’s inhabitants.

QT: This is the second exhibition you have had that explores facets of Sydney’s culture (the first, from memory, explored our iconic beach and surf lifestyle). What inspired you to choose this particular setting?

TD: For this exhibition I wanted to move away from the beach and explore the inner city, the areas around Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and Surry Hills. Part of my inspiration was reading Louis Nowra’s book ‘Kings Cross’ which opened up a whole new world for me in terms of local history and the personal stories that he shares. There are so many sides to the physical experience of the Cross – bohemian and boozy but also elegant and erudite and I wanted to try and capture some of these moments and bring them together in a coherent story.

QT: What kinds of things do you look for in your compositions? Is there any planning that goes into each shot beforehand?

TD: There’s not a lot of planning for each shot, it’s more of an intuitive feeling that something is happening in front of me that needs to be recorded. After a day of shooting I’ll go through the photos and then begin the next stage which is equally important to a great photo: cropping and editing so that the final print that ends up on the wall speaks the exact language of the story I’m telling.

QT: I personally love your urban pictures – there is a stronger sense of anonymity in the narratives. What was the thinking behind this representation?

TD: I can only say that each time I share a photo it has to have a certain quality of feeling. It has to speak to the viewer of timelessness, but also of levity and unexpectedness. This goes for both a picture of a bronzed surfer or a photo of a drag queen smoking a joint.

QT: There is almost a sense of fairy tale to some of the shots, almost a surreal nature to them. Was this intentional?

TD: I spend half my life daydreaming so I suppose it’s intentional! I’m not that interested in journalistic photography because I’m more interested in telling stories rather than reporting on them. I’m creating my own fictional world that exists only in these photos, so everything you see is more like someone else’s fractured, beautiful dream.

QT: Where are some of your favourite places to shoot?

TD: Obviously I love shooting at Bondi, but some of my favourite shots have been taken at local pools like Andrew Boy Charlton and Prince Alfred Park. Even in the inner city I find myself being drawn to bodies of water! The other place I like to shoot is ‘down low’. Which means whichever location I’m in I often lie flat on my stomach to get a different angle for the shot.

QT: Who are some of the other artists you find inspirational?

TD: I’m obsessed with Gary Winogrand at the moment who’s just had an exhibition at the Met in New York. Also Vivian Maier and Saul Leiter. My favourite Australian photographers would probably be Rosemary Laing, Jon Lewis and Rennie Ellis.

QT: What’s the theme of the next show?

TD: It’s back to the beach! I’m planning on travelling to LA and Rio so I can do a whole series on coastal culture. Let’s hope I can keep going around the world doing this!

Timothy Denoon’s Somewhere City will be showing at Gallery Mercure in Potts Point from October 8 until November 2.