Analogue Images

During an exhibition at the Tin Sheds Gallery at the University of Sydney in 2023, architectural photographers Rory Gardiner and Maxime Delvaux had their work exhibited together for the first time. In the form of image associations, a dialogue is established between the two artists' photographs. The comparison is not insignificant. Indeed, several aspects of their practice bring the two photographers closer together. On the one hand, there is an aesthetic similarity, with an interest in the architecture of the ordinary, where bodies are largely absent but where clues testify to their passage. These images are worked with a predominance of neutral tones, softening the photographed architecture. On the other hand, we can also note a technical rapprochement through the use of film photography, more specifically the use of the same camera, an Arca-Swiss.

Rory Gardiner is originally from Melbourne and works in London, and Maxime Delvaux is Belgian, based in Brussels. Their major presence in the Belgian and Australian architectural photography landscape reveals a renewed interest in built works as much as the environment that surrounds them. Through their photographs, in which the anthropic and the natural merge, they document the paradigm shifts of contemporary architects in the face of climate upheaval. 

To enrich the exhibition in Sydney, the two photographers gave themselves over to an experiment. On the same day, in the same place, they were each asked to take a film photo, with the aim of having the other retouch it digitally. In addition to highlighting the complementary nature of their practice, between analog and digital, the exercise produced singular works, signed by both of their names. In the framework of the book launch, they will repeat the experience using Brussels as a model.

The exhibition has given rise to the publication Analogue Images, that will be presented at et al. on October 31, 2024, at 7:00 pm. At this occasion, Rory Gardiner, Maxime Delvaux and editor Urtzi Grau will be present and engage in a discussion, moderated by Radim Louda.