Leura, New South Wales1974
In 1974, while in her third year of art school, Hall exhibited her photographs for the first time in Thoughts and images: an exploratory exhibition of Australian student photography at Ewing and George Paton Galleries, Melbourne. Other student exhibitors included Bill Henson, Sue Ford and Rodney Pople. ‘Leura’ was shown in this exhibition. It is part of a series of photographs that document the textures of the artist’s surroundings, and prefigures Hall’s ongoing interest in human habitats and the environments we occupy. This early work demonstrates an attentiveness to the environment of the home. Hall has honed in on the intersection of two floral patterns to create a strange domestic forest that references both the natural and built environments. The patterns create a confusing optical effect and almost merge together; however an angular shadow and variation in perspective help the eye to decipher their belonging to an upholstered chair and a carpeted surface. This photograph was taken with a nineteenth-century large-format camera, which allowed Hall to create the rich tones and fine details inherent in the image.
(2021)
Gelatin silver prints are black-and-white photographic prints that have been created using papers coated with an emulsion of gelatin and light-sensitive silver salts. After the papers are briefly exposed to light (usually through a negative), a chemical developer renders the latent image as reduced silver, which is then fixed and washed. This technique was first introduced in the 1870s and is still used today. Most twentieth-century black-and-white photographs are gelatin silver prints. They are known for being highly detailed and sharply defined prints with a distinguishable smooth, even image surface.
