Famed photographer takes a moonlit look at Modern architecture
Melbourne photographer Tom Blachford is showcasing the fourth instalment in his Midnight Modern series until March 3 at Michael Reid Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney.
In the images, shot using only moonlight, Blachford explores a fanciful, night-lit journey through Palm Springs, California.
Casting a new light on the town renowned as the perpetual nucleus of Modern design, Midnight Modern IV embraces the outer-reaches of the Modernist movement to capture alien landscapes and architecture cast in eerie moonlight. Ethereal swimming pools also feature in the exhibition.
Shot over four years, Blachford’s Midnight Modern series of architecture, has been featured widely around the globe in publications such as Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, Aesthetica and Wired. The monograph of the series was released by PowerHouse books NYC in 2016.
Midnight Modern IV’s moonlight images depict the Palm Springs of a relinquished era. The surreal shots offer a rare take on the town whose unique geography and climate give rise to a distinct, deep blue sky which delivers a midnight blue and moonlight ideal for long exposures – of which Blachford has taken full advantage.
“The process of combining the moonlight and a camera to me really is magic. The long exposure compresses these moments in a single viewable image to capture a world just beyond our perception,” says Blachford.
His powerful images include a Futura house, The Doolittle House by Kellogg and The Black Desert House by Oller and Pejic.
The exhibition will be open to the public until March 3 at the Michael Reid Contemporary Art Gallery, Sydney. All pieces on display will be available for purchase.
