Looking at Looking

The act of photographing people involves a process of observation, scrutiny and looking.  At times photographers remain detached and anonymous.  Other times they are complicit, directing their subjects and encouraging specific actions and poses.  Sometimes the gaze is returned, and sometimes it is denied.  The power of the gaze can create complex relationships between the subject, the photographer and the audience.

From people observed in a crowd, to surveillance photographs from war zones, and images that ‘split’ our gaze, the exhibition will present the work of a range of photographers who have explored ideas of looking.  It includes international and Australian photographs drawn from the NGV Collection, and features works by Brook Andrew, Chi Peng, Anne Ferran, Ashley Gilbertson, Charles Green and Lyndell Brown, Bill Henson, John Immig, Thomas Struth, and David Thomas.