Le Nouveau Château:
Photographs of Muloobinba/Newcastle 2003-2023 by Andrew Forrer
Opens 6pm Friday 29 September
Andrew Forrer is a British/Australian photographer who after a series of serendipitous moments, of the kind that punctuate our lives, arrived in Muloobinba/Newcastle twenty years ago.
Traversing the city and surrounds using a guerrilla documentary approach to his work, Andrew has examined the city's environment and character. Would it conform to the widely held stereotype; an industrial, rough around the edges city whose residents either never leave or can't wait to disappear south to Sydney and beyond?
Down on its luck since suffering the twin blows of a powerful earthquake and later the BHP steelworks closure, the city (as cities do) has sought to evolve, redevelop and rebrand its reputation despite the ever-present spectre of towering stockpiles of jet-black coal, arriving on snaking coal trains and leaving aboard the hulking tankers that line the banks of the Hunter River.
Andrew has extensively documented the grittier side of the Greater Newcastle/Hunter region between 2003 and 2023; Le Nouveau Château is the result of recording his observations with a camera.
Artist Bio
Andrew Forrer makes documentary photographs of the world as he experiences it. Largely devoid of people, the images focus on the marks and traces left by humans that litter the landscape; sometimes ephemeral, often more permanent. These suggest an echo of past events and interactions. Tinged with darkness, melancholy and humour his photographs often focus on the overlooked fabric of our world that many pass by without a second glance.
Born and raised in London; for much of the last two decades he has found himself in Australia living on Awabakal Country. Initially studying Geography at the University of Manchester, he later completed a Master of Documentary Photography at Sydney College of the Arts (SCA).
He is a resident at Onwards Studios in Muloobinba/Newcastle where he continues to make photos documenting his surroundings.
Onwards Gallery
6 Torpey Place Hamilton
Opens 6-9pm. 29 September 2023
Continues Sat-Thurs 11am-4pm.