Ian Strange's Disturbed Home at the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial

Ian Strange has been commissioned to create a series of new major light installations and photo works for the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial in Cincinnati, USA. The leading Australian contemporary artist has incorporated real homes in Cincinnati where large-scale light works were installed and photographed by Strange and his collaborators over a two-month period in the city. These works utilised dramatic single-source lighting to illuminate and obscure the homes and neighbourhoods.

The first work, Ley Street, casts a single, monumental shadow of the home across the street and neighbourhood. The second work, Walnut Avenue, transforms the home into a brilliant white silhouette of light, which was created by meticulously wrapping the entire home in a light-reflective material commonly used on street signs.

The project’s title, 'PENUMBRA', refers to a partial or imperfect shadow outside its darkest point; a place between total illumination and darkness. Strange's two final photographic works, presented alongside research and archival histories of each home, reflect on the imperfect act of seeing the histories of place and landscape and present the psychogeography of a home. The photographic works and research premiered in 'Disturbed Home', a new comprehensive survey exhibition of the artist's work at the Art Academy of Cincinnati for the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial, curated by Biennial artistic director and curator Kevin Moore.

"PENUMBRA reflects on the existing visual records and histories of neighborhoods, as well as the effects of environmental and economic conditions on specific homes in the region." - Kevin Moore, Biennial artistic director and curator

About Ian Strange

Ian Strange is a transdisciplinary artist whose work explores architecture, space, and the home. His practice includes multifaceted collaborative community-based projects, architectural interventions and exhibitions resulting in photography, sculpture, installation, site-specific works, film, documentary works, and exhibitions created around the world. His studio practice includes painting and drawing, as well as ongoing research and archiving projects. Strange is best known for his ongoing series of suburban architectural interventions, film, and photographic works that subvert the archetypal domestic home.

Strange’s works have been exhibited extensively in spaces such as The National Gallery of Victoria, Canterbury Museum, The Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of South Australia, Whitewall Galleries, Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, ThinkSpace, MCA, The Queensland State Library, Allouche Gallery, Standard Practice Gallery, Strychnin Gallery Berlin, and Fremantle Arts Centre; as well as at arts festivals including Underbelly, PUBLIC, NuArt, Auckland Festival of Photography, and SPRING/BREAK 2017. In 2017, ABC TV released "HOME: The Art of Ian Strange", a six-part documentary series looking at Strange’s career and work to date.

Strange has spoken and lectured widely about his practice, including at Parsons School of Design (2014), Columbia College Chicago (2017), TEDxSydney (2018), RMIT University (2019), and Harvard Graduate School of Design (2020).

2022 FotoFocus Biennial, Ian Strange: Disturbed Home
Exhibition Dates: 1 October - 9 December 2022
Address: Art Academy of Cincinnati: SITE 1212 and Annex, 1212 Jackson St, Cincinnati

All images are courtesy of Ian Strange.