Wishing Things Were Different by Alessandro Bianchetti

Please join the ArtSHINE community as we celebrate the latest exhibition by photographer Alessandro Bianchetti during the Head On Photo Festival.

Wishing Things Were Different is an associated event during the Head On Photo Festival

The exhibition runs: 14 November to 30 January 2024 (open Monday to Friday, 10am - 4pm)

Opening celebration: 6pm on Wednesday 15 November 2023.

• To RSVP for the opening celebration, please select the Wednesday 17 November at 6pm ticket.

• To RSVP for the artist talk: Please select the Saturday 18 November at 2pm ticket.

Venue: Bendigo Bank - Community Bank Darling Square, Shop NE12 11 Little Pier Street Haymarket NSW 2009

ArtSHINE is mindful of NSW Health guidelines and updates, so we'll be notifying guests of any special requirements or conditions closer to the time should any circumstances change. Thank you for your understanding.

Artist statement:

We all have our secrets; we all have our regrets…

“Wishing Things Were Different” is a series of photographs by Italian born photographer Alessandro Bianchetti that explores those moments when we feel disassociated and isolated from our surroundings. We become lost in our own world, trying to come to terms with the reality of our daily existence.

Created as part of a ‘proof of concept’ artist’s book of the same name and with an introductory essay by Leigh Robb, this exhibition will be the first time that selected works from the book will be shown to a wider audience.

Influenced by popular culture, history and childhood memories, with a background in psychology and personal experience, Alessandro draws on his skills as a commercial photographer and documentary film-maker to create carefully choreographed and lit compositions that fuse documentary and performance. The resulting large scale colour prints have a cinematic quality that hints but never explains, leading to questions about how we live, communicate and relate to each other. They encourage the viewer to draw on their own experiences to reflect on circumstances, decisions and consequences.

About the artist:

Alessandro Bianchetti is an international artist with background in social science and human psychology. Born and raised in Brescia (Italy), he is currently based in Perth Western Australia, where he works as a photographer and documentary film-maker.

In addition to his commercial practice Alessandro has been developing his personal work, collaborating with other visual artists, including David Brophy on the work “one and three” as well as undertaking his own projects. This included returning to study, where he took out the best photography student and best book awards in the Advanced Diploma of Photography course run by North Metropolitan TAFE.

In 2022, the photograph “in the woods” from the book Wishing Things Were Different was selected as a semi-finalist "Head On Portrait Award 2022" as part of the Head On photo festival in Bondi Beach, Sydney.

Alessandro’s artworks are influenced by popular culture, history, film, television, literature, and his childhood memories and personal experiences.