Artist Statement
I came to photography untrained in any area of image making and ignorant of all art theory. I picked up a camera and discovered a way to pursue my unerring interest in an individual’s life. Photography immediately became my passion and my profession. I photograph generations of families, living and work spaces, the objects we surround ourselves with, many aspects of my community, and the physical environment of my area. I work with analogue and digital photography, and more recently with video, sewn and printed fabric, and natural form sculptures. I’m recording the passage of my own life via image making.
Biography
Ruth Maddison as born in Melbourne. She moved to Eden, far south coast of NSW, in 1996. Self taught. Began professional work 1976.
Exhibitions
Selected solo exhibitions2009 There Is A Time. PhotoAccess, Canberra
Girt By Sea. Eden Killer Whale Museum, NSW
2008 Now You See Us. Jindabyne National Park Visitors Centre
2008 Girt By Sea. Cowra Regional Art Gallery
2003 Response. Photoaccess. Canberra
Now A River Went Out Of Eden. Stills Gallery, Sydney
2002 Now A River Went Out Of Eden. Bega Valley Regional Gallery, NSW
1998 Jewish Families. Jewish Museum of Australia
1997 Australian Women. Various Community Centres, Sydney, Melb, Darwin
1995 Single Mothers. Access Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria
1994 Blanche Street 1985-1993: Extracts From a Photo Diary. Tin Sheds Gallery, Sydney
1991 Women Over 60. Victorian Centre for Photography
1988 Street Photography from Australia. Artists for Peace Gallery, Moscow
1983 Some Men. Watters Gallery, Sydney
1980 When A Girl Marries. Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
1979 Christmas Holiday With Bob’s Family. Ewing Gallery, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2010 The Naked Face. Self Portraits. National Gallery of Victoria
Timelines. National Gallery of Victoria
Home Truths. State Library of NSW
2008 Preserving the Past, Enriching the Future. Ian Potter Centre, NGV
2007 City of Hobart Art Prize. (Winner) Tasmanian Museum and Gallery, Hobart
Reveries: Photography and Mortality. National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
Reveries: Photography and Mortality. University of Queensland Art Gallery
Josephine Ulrick/Win Shubert Photography Award. (Finalist) Gold Coast City Art Gallery
Raised By Wolves. Art Gallery of Western Australia
2005 Face to Face. National Trust S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
In A New Light. Australian. Photography 1930s-2000. National Library of Ausytralia
Josephine Ulrick/Win Schubert Foundation Photography Award (Finalist) Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Qld.
2004 Look - hunter art 1. Newcastle Regional Art Gallery
2003 Second Site. Ian Potter Centre. National Gallery of Victoria
National Photographic Purchase Award. Albury Regional Art Gallery
First Impressions. Ian Potter Centre-National Gallery of Victoria
2002 Josephine Ulrick National Photography Prize. (Winner) Tweed River Regional Art Gallery
2001 Ordinary Women Extraordinary Lives. Melbourne Museum
1998 The 29th Alice Prize. Araluen Centre for Arts, Alice Springs
Close Relations. Australian Centre For Photography
1997 A Face in the Crowd. Australian Portrait Gallery, Canberra
1996 The Power to Move : Aspects of Australian Photography. Queensland Art Gallery
1994 All In The Family. National Library of Australia, Canberra
The Full Spectrum: Colour and Photography in Australia 1860s to 1990s. Nat. Gallery of Vic.
Aspects of Australian Portraiture. Australian Portrait Gallery, Canberra
1992 Sites of the Imagination. National Gallery of Victoria
1989 Portrait Photography. Australian National Gallery, Canberra
1988 Australian Photography: The 1980s. Australian National Gallery and State Galleries
Jewish Life in Australia Today. Jewish Museum of Australia
1987 Living in the 70s. Australian National Gallery, Canberra
1986 Events. National Gallery of Victoria
1985 And So...We Joined the Union. RMIT Gallery, Melbourne
1983 A Critical Distance. Artspace, Sydney
1980 Four French and Australian Photographers From the Collection. National Gallery of Victoria
Collections
Australian National Gallery
National Gallery of Victoria
Queensland Art Gallery
Parliament House Art Collection
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Tasmanian Museum and Gallery
Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne.
National Library of Australia Picture Collection
State Library of Victoria Picture Collection
State Library of NSW Picture Collection
Tweed River Regional Art Gallery
Griffith Artworks, Griffith University, Queensland
ACT Community Health Care
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Archives
Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne
Albury Regional Art Centre
City of Port Phillip Art Collection, Melbourne
Trades Hall Council, Melbourne
Australian Council of Trade Unions, Melbourne
Performing Arts Museum, Melbourne
Grants, Awards, Residences
2008 Arts ACT Regional Arts Fund
2007 Visual Arts Board of Australia - Skills & Development.
2007 Winner, Hobart City Art Prize for Photography/Digital Media.
2004 Visual Arts Board of Australia - Skills & Development. Mumbulla Foundation Grant
2002 Recipient inaugural Arts ACT/Photoaccess/Megalo ‘Cutting Edge’ artists residency
2002 Winner Josephine Ulrick National Photography Prize for Portraiture
2001 Visual Arts Board of Australia - New Work
2001 NSW Ministry for the Arts, Myer Foundation (Through Bega Valley Regional Gallery)
1993 Photography Acquisition Award: Contemporary Jewish Artists in Australia
1985 Australian Council of Trade Unions Artist's Residency ("And So.... We joined the Union")
1980 Australia Council for the Arts
Freelance work
Since 1980: Assignments, Commissions, Tutoring, Lecturing, Photojournalism for a wide range of newspapers, magazines, individuals, government and non-governments organizations.