Purchased with funds from Charles Babcock and Dr. and Mrs. Lunsford Long, by exchange
Australian artist Rosemary Laing is best known for creating large staged photographs that combine performance art and photography. Her work explores people, places, culture, history, and the connections between people and nature. Her images of people in unexpected situations make it difficult to tell what is real and what is imagined.
Laing’s photograph, flight research #5, shows a bride floating high above the Australian landscape. She is dressed in a flowing white gown and appears to hover between rising and falling. The image captures a single moment and encourages viewers to look closely and think about what is happening.
The “looking,” from which images emanate, is an act of the mind, as much as it is a reaction of the senses. It is about the huge space between our eyes and what we see, which is infected by everything we have ever come to know and understand.
Rosemary Laing
This photo is part of the artist’s larger series, flight research (1998–2000). The series features flying brides in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. Laing said she used the repeated image of a flying bride to explore ideas about freedom, transformation, and the desire to move beyond limits set by society and culture.
Laing did not digitally alter the images in her series. Instead she worked with stunt performers to create and photograph each scene. Her 2002 photo series, bulletproofglass, continues the flying-bride imagery in more dramatic scenes.
tags: weather, women, movement, play, problem solving, technology
Resources for Teachers
Resources for Students
