Aqueous Moments - Photomedia Exhibition by Bernadette Smith

Bernadette Smith’s solo photomedia show blends fine art and documentary approaches to photography. Its subject matter is endangered waterways, wetlands and coastal hinterlands of Greater Sydney and beyond. 

These areas are under threat from extractive industries such as sand mining and inappropriate development. Informed by her background in environmental activism. The works plead us to overcome our alienation from the natural world by establishing an emotional connection. Her response to climate change reveals an artificial divide separating city dwellers from the surrounding landscape that sustains communities.

The exhibition employs macro shots and less familiar views of marine and inland wetlands to highlight the intrinsic qualities of water and encourage a greater appreciation of our most precious resource. Bernadette Smith works with photomedia and installation to explore water sustainability and the non-human world. Her latest series was partly inspired by the artist’s residency at Bundanon, in southern NSW in late 2020 where she and other artists living with disability retreated to find inspiration in the bush after Covid-19 lockdowns. 

Bernadette’s art was featured in the 10th Canberra Festival of Art and she has been a finalist for the Mosman Art Prize, Fishers Ghost Art Award, Eden Unearthed, Sunstudio Emerging Photographers Prize and SCA Showcase at Verge Gallery, University of Sydney. Bernadette has exhibited at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Perth Centre for Photography, Newcastle Art Gallery and the State Library of NSW.