About Judith Ahern 

Judith Ahern has been making photographs for over thirty years. Her practice includes work in the mediums of black and white photography, color photography, alternative processes and video art. . In her photographic work Ahern has explored notions of documentary practice, photographing in the diverse contexts of Las Vegas, Death Valley, Disneyland, Paris, Tamworth and Nashville. Ahern has exhibited her work at galleries and museums in Australia (including the National Gallery, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Noosa Regional Art Gallery, Australian Center for Photography), and internationally (White Columns, New York; Cite Gallery, Paris; Chisenhale Gallery, London; and Circulo des bellas Arts, Madrid). She has lectured on photography at Universities in Australia and has been a freelance contributor of journalism to the Canberra Times and Photofile. 

The first extensive body of work for which Judith Ahern gained recognition was the photographic project documenting Tamworth’s Country Music Festival. Ahern lived and studied in the United States for a period in the 1990’s and completed and exhibited several bodies of photographic work, including ‘The Real World’, ‘Live Simply’, ‘Nashville’ and ‘Unidentified Hostesses’. Other later series include: ‘Trout’,  ‘In the Garden’,  ‘Britney Is A Slapper’, and the platinum palladium series ‘After Atget’. Ahern was based in the Northern Territory for several years lecturing at Charles Darwin University. Ahern exhibited ‘Darwinites’ at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, as well as the exhibition ‘Territory Landscapes’ at Twenty Four Hour art Gallery in Darwin. A current project investigates the coastal environs and skyscapes in the Noosa area. Currently living and working on the Sunshine Coast in Australia, Ahern is continuing her practice as an artist, freelance photographer  and is the  director of the Sunshine Coast Art Therapy Studio. 
 

Exhibitions 2019

Remembering Guitars and Stars

Ray Walsh Gallery, Tamworth

From the Kitchen Table: Drew Gallery Projects 1984-1990
Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury UK
Cafe Gallery Projects, London

 

Major Photographic Series

Tamworth: A series taken over 5 years documenting the Tamworth country Music Festival.Self-portraits: A black and white series using reflections and shadows.Installations: A series of portraits in black and white, re-situated as a life size image back in situ.Social Functions: color images of participants at society balls and events in Sydney in the 1980’s. Nashville: Color photographs of fans at the annual Fanfair in Nashville.American Landscapes: Color photographs of the iconography of the American social landscape.Live Simply: small details of interiors of Mickey Mouse’s House.The real world: black and white photographs taken over a 6-year period living in America. Zabriskie Point: Photographed in large format black and white, represents the view at Zabriskie Point in Death valley over a 24 hour period.Darwinites: Photographed in Darwin, Australia, images of prominent residents photographed in 1994.Trout: Photographic series on black and white depicting life in a small, insular country town in Australia.After Atget: a series printed on platinum palladium and photographed in Paris, revisits the sites that Atget photographed in Paris in the early 1900’s. Noosa Landscapes: Colour photographs of the social and natural landscapes in the Noosa area.Northern Territory Landscapes: One series of color prints depicts interiors of Palmerston display village housing and exteriors of houses from these ‘ideal living’ estates on the fringes of suburbia and the bush. Another series details in black and white platinum contact prints images of the natural and man made landscape.Britney is a slapper: Color photographs taken in and around London, showing details of life in the outer suburbs of London: street scenes, shop fronts, interiors and signs of the iconography of everyday life.In the Garden: Photographs depicting English gardens: the photographs include those taken in the grounds of Eltham Palace, Blenheim Palace, Chiswick House, Hampton Court Palace, Audley End and Lacock Abbey.Six: A year in the life of a six-year-old girl, portraits taken daily recording change over time.Noosa skyscapes: photographs of details of the sky in the Noosa area.