New underground photography event exhibits over 40 photographers in Brisbane

Brisbane’s creative scene is having its moment – the past few weeks have been filled with exhibitions, showcases and launch parties, and this week was no different. On Sunday a new photography exhibition - House of Iris - had its first event. With over 40 talented local photographers showcasing their work and classes on film development and basic photography, the event was packed all day and well into the night.

House of Iris was curated by Macami and Luis Campbell. Macami - Tirade’s own Photo Editor - is a creative director and photographer whose work is creative, fun, and avant-garde. In 2021 she was listed by Peerspace as one of the 10 best fashion photographers based in Brisbane. Luis, also a Brisbane based creative, is usually a filmmaker but found a shortcut creative outlet in film photography - capturing stories, characters, emotions in single frames. His work started with candid photography of his own experiences but expanded to portrait, street, film stills and promo work. Together, the two created the idea to hold this event for local photographers to not only share their work with the public, but also to become better connected with each other and continue to build Brisbane's creative scene as a group.

41 local photographers had their work displayed at VENTspace, an old taxi rank/workshop turned Brisbane's new creative hub located in Albion. The crowd moved slowly around the large space taking in the breathtaking work around them and exploring the different sections of the building that had been turned into artistic spaces. One such space was for artist Aleja Hine who painted a mural throughout the day that combined Macami and Luis’s photography, and allowed everyone to watch the mural come to life in real time. Another space was for the live acts whose music set the mood and filled the entire building during the event. Jazz band The Three Flat Whites played live throughout the day with DJ Hakido taking over in the afternoon.

During the event group discussions and workshops for enthusiasts, hobbyists and professionals were held. The group discussion- ‘Women in photography’, was a relaxed discussion with some great local female photographers, sharing their influences and experiences within the creative industries. The first workshop was a film development mini course by Jack Phoenix, a Brisbane artist and designer, who taught the group how to develop their own film roll. The afternoon workshop was in basic photography, primarily understanding and practicing the exposure triangle. The class was run by Caity Smith, Eliza Mullins, Isabella Rae-Argo, James Caswell and Macami – all of whom work as photographers and/or photography assistants at Australia's most well-known photo studio, The Photo Studio. After the final workshop, the two curators Luis and Macami battled each other in a live photoshoot, which was the highlight of the event. The photographers shared the same model, Molly Lowry, and had 5 minutes (swapping every 1 minute) to photograph Molly. It was impressive to see both photographers using the entire double story event space to capture the model and each in their own style, Luis with his film camera and Macami with her digital camera.

House of Iris not only exhibited work by emerging and established local photographers, but allowed those creatives to network, share their experiences and learn from each other in a positive and open environment. The two curators did an amazing job at not only creating House of Iris and and making the exhibition come to life, but also realising the need for such an event. Events like this are crucial in allowing artists to develop their work and thrive in a supportive community, and for the continuous growth of Brisbane's creative scene.