Studio/location photographs

Studio/Location Photographs is a body of eight photographic works by Dobai that explores the nature of public space in the city. The series focuses on the image of the shopping mall, including photographs of sites shot in and around malls and images of actor/models in the studio in settings that echo the architectural qualities of the urban spaces photographed. The series draws parallels between public space in everyday life and the theatrical context of the photo-shoot. This work continues Dobai’s on-going investigation into artifice in relation to realism and the everyday in photographically based practices. The demeanour of the actor/models in the studio photographs moved between the enacted and un-posed, drawing parallels between people’s uneasy relation to public space in everyday life and how a model finds ‘a way to be’ in the theatrical context of the photo-shoot. The research for Studio/Location Photographs was developed during a residency at the Centre International des Recollets, Paris (January-April 2008 funded by the Ministry of Culture of the City of Paris). ‘Studio/ Location Photographs’ has been presented in two solo exhibitions and three group exhibitions in museums (see below for details)