Sarah Rhodes: Play

Artist’s Statement:

Playing at life with agency and power, these small adults come to terms with the grief of losing a loved one by testing themselves in games of survival. The work challenges our perceptions of children of whether one should differentiate between adults and children, whether children are born evil and to what extent they can play under their own charge. In these images, these small adults are rapidly approaching the horizon of childhood as it silently gives way to adolescence and a different way of knowing.

Artist’s Bio:

Sydney, Australia

Sarah Rhodes’s photography practice draws on her career as a newspaper photographer and museum collection online storyteller. Her main interest is using portraiture to explore the relationship between creativity and identity.

A romantic fascination with the ‘artist’s life’ inspired ‘The Artist’s Lunch’ (Murdoch Books, Australia, 2008). Her series Play (2008 – present), Home / On Country (2011) and Great Australian Artists (2005 – 2008) have been published internationally and are held in public and private collections, including the National Library of Australia, AlburyCity, Koorie Heritage Trust, Museum Victoria and the Margaret Hannah Olley and Charles Blackman trusts. Sarah has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and Fine Art and a Masters in Publishing at the University of Sydney.

Sarah divides her time between Sydney and Tasmania, Australia.