Light Works

The sun’s light is an elemental force of nature without which our planet would not exist. Light is also fundamental for the creation of photographs, indeed some of the first photographs were named ‘calotype’ meaning a ‘beautiful impression’ created by light. Light, and its absence, it still a source of inspiration for many contemporary photographers. In this exhibition drawn from the National Gallery of Victoria Collection, artists including Mike and Doug Starn, David Stephenson, Hiroshi Sugimoto and Bill Henson, use the emotive potential and scientific capacities of light in their creative explorations of the world. Works included range from photograms (camera-less images); large scale installations and digital light-based technologies.