Capturing Elton’s eye
by Katrina Kalleske
He may be a modern music legend but in art circles, Sir Elton John is known for much more. He is said to have one of the world’s largest and most respected private photographic collections totalling about 2500 images.
So it is no small thing for UniSA Studio Head of Photography and New Media, Mark Kimber to find he is now featured in the Elton John collection, most of which is housed at Sir Elton’s Atlanta home in the US.
Sir Elton regularly visits Stills Gallery in Paddington when he is in Sydney and during a recent trip he was drawn to Kimber’s work. His purchase of two works was somewhat unusual and was certainly a surprise for Kimber.
"He
normally buys portrait-based photographs but mine are actually night
landscapes," Kimber said.
"One is a photo over Adelaide airport which I took on a night when there was a full moon. The other was taken at a petrol station on Marion Road. Ordinary places seen in another light.
"Most of my photographic works are night images. I am drawn to capturing dark places with pools of light."
For most of his work Kimber uses time exposures of about five minutes, which he says capture much more than the naked eye normally can. He says that while his work features in many public collections across Australia and the world, his inclusion in Sir Elton’s collection is the most prominent.
"I feel very honoured to have a place in such an important art collection."