Behind The Lens
STORY BY MAHMOOD FAZEL, PHOTOS BY MARNIE HAWSON
On the subject of photography, Henri Cartier-Bresson writes, “To take photographs is to hold one's breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeing reality.” The current climate is testament to a different kind of fleeing reality; the decay of our natural environment. Marnie Hawson’s photography converges storytelling with social responsibility.
“As a former environmental scientist, I'm hardwired to tread lightly in everything I do,” says Marnie. She was raised on acreage and was quickly absorbed by the romance of the Australian bush. “I was rarely allowed to watch TV and instead spent hours outdoors making cubbies out of branches, exploring gorges down the back of our property and hunting for yabbies in the dams.”
As Marnie explored the natural landscape, she developed a curious eye for detail while fine tuning a purpose-driven philosophy. At the beginning of her photography career, Marnie captured “an honest trade,” a series of portraits highlighting twenty trades. “They are all what I considered honest trades.” She explains, “Honest trades involve manual labour and hard work. To me, there is far more value in something that has had love and sweat poured into the production of it.” In a striking set of portraits titled Farrier, the blacksmith’s face disappears in a cloud of smoke as heats the horseshoe.
Marnie describes her aesthetic as, “simple, neutral and natural,” and seems shy when talking about the art of photography. “There was a specific artwork that inspired me, I don’t know why it made a difference...It was a shot of all these horses coming out of their stable.” Marnie prefers to ground her creative practice in pragmatism, “I still see myself as a scientist and not a creative person at all, even though people tell me differently.”
In a photograph for the Waringarri Arts Centre, a paint brush, weathered in a history of colour, takes centre stage as the edge of a painting is set aside. A stone built cottage and a fireplace illustrates the rich fruits of Langmeil’s Shiraz. And for Calico Pony, a rocking-horse sways in the foreground of a chiaroscuro painting depicting the head of a thoroughbred.
Rather than wrestle with style and form in the age old thesis arguing art for art's sake, Marnie’s process is concerned with an interrogation of who she works with. “After 4 years of work as a photographer, my business shifted to a purpose-driven model. I realised that I only wanted to work with people who have a strong commitment to the environmental and social impact of their business, and who constantly seek to improve their world.”
Marnie works in a quaint weatherboard studio that was once the town's old post office with Dexter, her miniature pinscher, snoring beside her desk. “I’m always looking for the special little things we might overlook, to capture something that’s meaningful to the owner, to capture the story or the emotion that makes what I’m shooting special.”
MARNIE HAWSON
hello@marniehawson.com.au