Douglas Lance Gibson

Douglas Lance Gibson is a Sydney based artist working primarily within the photographic medium. Instead of crafting a scene to photograph from scratch, Gibson prefers to chance his hand and attempt to find existing situations that align naturally with his concepts, allowing new readings to emerge from seemingly unrelated objects and events through composition and sequencing. While this approach may suggest something more akin to documentary, Gibson is not interested in capturing an objective view of the world, remaining wary of photography’s relationship to truth, text and time.

For his largest project, What Was Once Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, Gibson used the International Date Line as a starting point, looking at the unrealised mystical potential of the date line, and the colonization and exploitation of time as a commodity by Western powers. Using photographs taken on the Fijian island of Taveuni, the series is a mediation on time and the multiple forms and roles it takes on in society and in nature, positioning Clock-Time as the ill fitting overcoat of the natural world. His current work-in-progress, A History of Humankind, looks to find the traces of ancient pivotal developments in the local built environment, and the unforeseen consequences these may have played on society. Another part of Gibson’s practice has been running photography workshops in indigenous communities in the Kimberley.

Partnering with local schools and community centres, Gibson helped secure funding for camera and lighting equipment, and oversaw the education and training, with the aim of creating a family portrait studio owned and run by local Aboriginal women. His work has been exhibited in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Paris. He was a finalist in the National Photographic Portrait Prize in 2015. In November 2017, Gibson held his first solo exhibition with Tolarno Galleries. Gibson is represented by Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.