- This event has passed.
The Coloured Girls
An event every week that begins at 11:00 am on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, repeating until 26 August, 2016
An event every week that begins at 11:00 am on Saturday, repeating until 27 August, 2016
Lisa Minogue
16-27 August 2016
hours:
Tuesday – Friday 11am to 5pm,
Saturday 12pm to 4pm
admission: Free
“Colours are beautiful, different and unique in their own right. Not one shade is the same. Each colour holds special vibratory and spiritual qualities – just like people” – Sasha Sarago
“Colours are beautiful, different and unique in their own right. Not one shade is the same. Each colour holds special vibratory and spiritual qualities – just like people”, says Sasha Sarago, a subject in Lisa Minogue’s exhibition, The Coloured Girls.
Minogue’s series, The Coloured Girls presents high-fashion styled portraits accompanied by a response from each participant to the question, what do the words Coloured Girl mean to you?
The girl’s individual responses feature alongside their portraits in the exhibition. Minogue has powerfully addressed and brought to the fore, the chronic social issue of inequality by playfully painting the faces of the girls to blatantly accentuate their individuality. This technique demands viewers stop and study the subjects faces closely to really see the women in the photographs.
The Coloured Girls is inspired by a conversation Minogue had with a model that was rejected by several agencies, despite being told they liked her look. One agency reportedly said, it was because they already had one of you. After querying, one of what? – the model was told they already had a black model on their books. This story shocked Minogue. With 54 different countries in Africa, it had never occurred to her that anyone might consider there is only one type of African look.
There are many diverse responses and yet many repeat themes evident in the messages from the participants of The Coloured Girls. “The colour of our skin should not be the cause of our separation as people of the world”, says Achan. Minogue hopes that these strong messages can play a part in aiding education and healing the scars of inequality and racism.
Minogue specialises in capturing, supporting and promoting African Australian and multicultural models. In 2012, she began volunteering at The Social Studio, a fashion label, shop and cafe on Smith Street, Collingwood. The studio celebrates the style and skills of diverse cultures in Australia. Minogue has since photographed many of the images in the Social Studio’s May 2015 coffee table book and frequently works photographing their fashion label.
Josephine Harkin
June 2016
Lisa Minogue is a Melbourne-based fine art and fashion photographer.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2013 End of Year exhibition, NMIT
2014 End of Year exhibition, Melbourne Polytechnic
2015 Graduate Exhibition, Melbourne Polytechnic
2015/16 Solo Exhibition, The Social Studio, Collingwood
AWARDS
2014 AIPP Victorian Epson Professional Photography Awards (VPPY), Silver Award, Ayah, 2015, pigment ink on Fibre Rag
2015 VPPY, Silver Award, Audrey, 2015, pigment ink on Cotton Rag
2015 Melbourne Polytechnic, Photo Imaging Student of the Year, 2015
2015 Melbourne Polytechnic, Outstanding Student of the Year – Creative Arts
PUBLISHED BOOKS
2015 The Social Studio Book, published by Melbourne Books. Author: Grace McQuiltan. Photographers: Morgan Brown & Lisa Minogue
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
2014 Melbourne Weekly, May 2014
2014 Ascension Magazine, Issue one
2015 Metro West, February 2015
2016 Collective Hub Magazine, March 2016, Issue #31