Photography and sound exhibitions from the series Place Matters
2016
Larach
Public art piece – an audiovisual created for Merchant City Festival and displayed in The Tardis, historical police box, in Glasgow city centre.
2016
National Theatre Scotland
Developing on Grounded, to create a projected photographic theatre set for a dramatic piece produced for National Theatre Scotland.
2015-2017
Grounded [Freumhaichte I Wadlu-gnana]
Flying Arts Alliance tour of Grounded in Australia: Dogwood Crossing, Miles; Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art, Brisbane; Coalface Art Gallery, Moranbah; David Harvey Sutton Gallery, Cloncurry; Texas Regional Art Gallery, Texas; Gympie Regional Art Gallery, Gympie; Gladstone Regional Art Gallery & Museum, Gladstone.
2014-2017
Facebook Friends (Laid Bare)
This body of work explores social media and its potential for fostering social isolation. I embody this message in my own process as I aim to visit all my Facebook friends to take their photographic portrait and record some aspect of the essence of who they are.
http://judith-parrott.ideastap.com/
2014
Grounded [Freumhaichte I Wadlu-gnana]
What happens for people when they become disconnected from their environment; when language or culture is lost? How does that bear relevance for the wellbeing of the planet? I found a resonance between the stories of the Australian Aboriginal people and the Scottish Gaels, which I explore in the pairing of Australian with Scottish photographs.
Reviewed by Dr Kate Robinson (view here) and journalist, Jim Gilchrist (view here). The Herald Arts Magazine Gallery round-up (view here)
Included: 44 framed Giclée prints; book of stories to accompany the photographs; 3 audiovisuals; Arrarnta, Gaelic and English language.
Funders: Glasgow Beo Gaelic Arts and Glasgow Merchant City Festival
Location: Glasgow Gaelic Cultural Centre as part of XX Commonwealth Games 2014, cultural events; An Lanntair Gallery, Stornoway, Outer Hebrides
2013
Nine weeks of residencies in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland and the desert regions of Central Australia for the exhibition Grounded
Funders: Glasgow Life, Ceolas, Proiseact nan Ealan, Hi-Arts, Vast Arts, Flying Arts, italk Library, AAACE
2005 – 2012
Antarctica – A Place in the Wilderness
Following four-months research in the Australian Antarctic Territory into the lives of scientists and trades people, the exhibition looks at how the sense of community is affected by its location in this isolated environment. Included are: fifty-eight framed silver gelatin prints; artist diaries, including a Braille version; soundscape; colour digital projection; permitted tactile found items; clothing and equipment.
Funders: Australian Antarctic Division; Brisbane City Council; MAGSQ; Supported by International Polar Year
Touring to: Mawson Pavilion, Hobart; Parliament House, Canberra; Brisbane Powerhouse Centre for the Arts; Noosa Regional Gallery; Warwick Art Gallery; Australian Catholic University; Texas Regional Art Gallery; Gladstone Regional Art Gallery; Outback Regional Art Gallery, Winton; St George Regional Museum, Hurtsville; Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria; Maitland Regional Gallery, NSW; Bundaberg Arts Centre; QANTAS Founders Museum, Longreach; Fairfield City Museum and Gallery, NSW.
2009
Walking the Bridge – The Shape of the Space where we Live
The exhibition examines contemporary Scottish immigration to Australia, why people stay and where these immigrants feel they belong. Included are: twenty-five framed silver gelatin prints; soundscape; tactile items.
Funder: Scottish Year of Homecoming through Discover Bute, and Artworkers’ Alliance, QLD
Location: Isle of Bute, Scotland
2007
Rothesay – A Place on an Island
The exhibition examines the sense of community and connection to place for residents of the Isle of Bute. Included are: twenty-six framed silver gelatin prints; colour digital projection; soundscape; interactive items to touch and smell; artist diaries.
Funder: Scottish Arts Council pARTners residency through Argyll and Bute Council
Location: Isle of Bute, Scotland
2005
Four-month Arts Fellowship Residency in Antarctica
Funder: Australian Antarctic Division
2004
A Place in Bolivia
The exhibition tells the story of the uprising that put Aymara leader, Evo Morales Ayma, into power as President of Bolivia. Following the journey to Orinoco, birthplace of Evo, and meeting Evo and his family, the exhibition reflects the determination of the Indigenous people of Bolivia to maintain their traditional values. Included are: fifty-one framed silver gelatin and ultrachrome images; soundscape; interactive items to touch and smell; poetic prose.
Funder: Arts Queensland and Ian Potter Cultural Trust
Location: Brisbane Powerhouse Centre for the Arts
Shades of Grey
An exhibition highlighting attempts by residents of Brisbane’s West End to maintain their local identity. Included are: fourteen silver gelatin prints.
Funder: Brisbane Social Forum
Location: University of Queensland
2003
One-month Arts Residency in Bolivia
Funder: Ian Potter Cultural Trust
2002
West End – A Sense of Place
The exhibition examines anxiety caused by rapid urban development of the inner city suburb of West End, Brisbane. It celebrates the unique identity of the area and importance of belonging in “Place”. Included are: forty-three framed silver gelatin prints; seven collages; soundscape; interactive items to touch, taste and smell.
Funder: Arts Queensland
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Competitions and prizes
Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010, competition shortlisted, 4,500 entries from 97 countries
Epoch Times photography competition finalist, exhibited in New York
New Scientist Eureka Photography Competition, finalist photographic tour, Australia.
Locations: Australia Museum, Sydney; SciTech, Perth; QUESTACON, Canberra; The Australia Centre for Photography, Sydney; RMIT University, Melbourne
Selected Commissions and public collections
Commission to mentor emerging artists towards exhibition level
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar – Museum nan Eilean – Acquisition of 5 photographs from Grounded [Freumhaichte I Wadlu-gnana] for public collection
Discover Bute Landscape Partnership Scheme. Photographic exhibition with sound and sculptural installation; Location: Isle of Bute converted boardroom space
Photography for Beyond the Boundary publication
Walking the Bridge, ABC Radio National, Australia, 50-minute feature production for ABC Radio National using sound and poetic prose from the Walking the Bridge exhibition
Photography for Walking West End, Queensland State Library Q150 celebrations
Photography for Communities of Faith Walking Together, (9 religions), Brisbane City Hall foyer banners and tour of regional libraries
Audiovisual, (still photography and sound) ASSIST – Choose Life, suicide awareness, Scotland
Audiovisual, (still photography and sound) Community Regeneration Conference, Scotland
Photography for Brisbane City Council, People displaced from their homes by the building of road tunnels
Photography for Brisbane City Council, Boarding house communities of Brisbane, Australia
Selected workshops, community arts projects and talks
Society for Photographic Education, New Orleans, and Bournemouth University of the Arts – Referenced in a talk by Professor Liz Wells, University of Plymouth, Professor of Photographic Culture
An lanntair Gallery, Stornoway: The Colour of Language, (view here) collaborative project with schools and An Lanntair Gallery to connect Australian Aboriginal and Scottish Gaelic children through language (inspired by the Grounded exhibition)
An Lanntair Gallery Stornoway: Saturday Art Club workshop based on Grounded (view here)
Gaelic Cultural space, Glasgow: In Conversation: Connecting through Culture, (view here) with Rona MacDonald Gaelic Arts producer and Craig Duggan, BBC Wales
BBC Radio Scotland, Voices of the Commonwealth (view here)
ABC Radio Western Queensland (view here)
Strathclyde University, Glasgow, artist talks: Grounded and Antarctica, A Place in the Wilderness
The Home and the World Arts Summit, Devon, England: Conference Paper with photographic retrospective
Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland: Artist talk on Antarctica arts residency
Flying Arts Workshop Facilitator at several locations around regional Queensland: Telling a story of community and place through photography and poetic prose
Griffith University QLD College of Art, Brisbane, Australia: Photographic concept development on place with talented youth
Brisbane City Council, Australia: Producer and facilitator for Eye-Pic; youth photography workshop series
Contact Inc., Brisbane, Australia: Co-facilitator for Community Cultural Development Facilitation Training
Queensland State Library: Panel guest speaker on connection to place and impact on community wellbeing using retrospective of photographic works
Mansfield, Victoria, Australia: Collaboration with Age Care facility and Mansfield Secondary College, to produce an audiovisual for the tourist information centre
St Joseph’s School, Blackall, Qld, Australia: Telling a story of community and place through photography
Glasgow Village Storytelling Centre: Photography and IT, reminiscence storytelling project facilitator
Thyngath Aboriginal Bush Art Camp to encourage language and cultural activity, working with Indigenous children using photography: Workshop facilitator for Primary Elder, Thancoupie
Mornington Peninsula Primary School, Vic, Australia: Telling a story of community and place through photography; workshops and artist talks
Gladstone SunFest, Qld, Australia: Working with teenagers in photography and poetic prose
Bouchat, Northern Cape, Australia: Photography workshop facilitator, Aboriginal Art Camp
Older Women’s Network, Brisbane, Australia: Guest speaker, Taking Better Photographs
Qualifications
2010
ECSSARE method of group facilitation training
1999 – 2001
Brisbane Institute of Art Certificate in Fine Art
1990
Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language, Edinburgh
1978 – 1982
Edinburgh University Honours Law Degree
Selected published works and reviews
Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Essays on Cities and Aging: Photographic illustration
Brisbane Ethnic Music and Arts Centre Magazine, Photo Essay
Big Issue Magazine, Photo Essay
National Maritime Museum, Sydney Australia, Signals magazine November 2012 Review of Antarctica – A Place in the Wilderness by Senior Curator, Lindsey Shaw
Geo Project Review of Antarctica – A Place in the Wilderness
Review of Antarctica – A Place in the Wilderness by Arts writer Jacqueline Murphy
Eyeline July 2003, Review of A Sense of Place
Selected Testimonials
“I have learned so much about the power of Place” Creative Generators participant, Brisbane
“What a truly wonderful project you have completed. I’m truly speechless and have tears in my eyes – and I love my hometown even more now!!” Mary-Jane Banks, Town Clerk, Canada
“This is amazing. I have been on the island for 12 years and you for 3 months, yet I have learned many things about it that I didn’t know before. Photographs and captions are lovely too. Such well caught images.” Anne Rado, local resident, Isle of Bute, Scotland
“Great tutoring; immense new outlook at photography; wonderful people and great patience with me. Always supporting, there was never a bad moment in the class. I look at the world in a whole different way now. It’s changed my life, the way I see everything.” Michael Muldoon, Reminiscence Programme, workshop participant, Glasgow, Scotland
