Crossing paths with Vivian Maier

An exhibition curated by Naomi Cass, Louise Neri and Karra ReesDuring her lifetime, Vivian Maier (1926—2009) produced more than 100,000 photographic images, which remained largely undiscovered until after her death. CCP celebrates this reluctant artist\u27s timely relevance, juxtaposing her work with contemporary Australian photography, performance and video.Maier\u27s prolific body of work recording both herself and the world around her—predominately with a distinctive medium format Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera—is a precursor to our age of compulsive photographic documentation via smart phones and digital media. The posthumous construction of her identity is almost as compelling as her images and her ability to determine and frame a gripping moment with poignancy and beauty. Time has been Maier\u27s collaborator, where nostalgia plays a significant role in the popularity of her archive. In Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier, Maier\u27s photography—printed well after her death—is presented with contemporary Australian artists working in still, moving and found photography and who also document the street and themselves in an equally obsessive manner.Against the gritty street life captured by her probing lens, Patrick Pound responds with second-hand images gleaned from junk shops and the Internet, while Debra Phillips and David Wadelton make an inventory of the city and its quirky features. Maier\u27s self-portraits reverberate with Australian women artists who turn the camera on themselves in performative ways, in the work of Cherine Fahd, Gabriella Mangano and Silvana Mangano, Clare Rae, Simone Slee and Kellie Wells