About : Andrew Tenison

Canberra based Australian photographer Andrew Tenison was born in Albury in 1984. He has been a practicing photographer since 2003 and exhibited for the first time that same year at Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA). Andrew's photographic practice is primarily project based and often plays with the language of both photography and the archive, including speculating on the lives of both real and imagined individuals. A key aspect of Andrew's practice is the examination of the role photography plays in the interpretation of both memory and place, employing a type of forensic analysis towards research material found in offical archives and beyond. The resulting bodies of work often contain photographic images that combine both fact and fiction set against the backdrop of 'real' historical events.

The use of archives establishes constraints that 'help make the work' as bodies of work take shape. Andrew also makes extensive use of found objects that may appear as both visual props and research objects in their own right. The building of photographic sets is also employed to move specific photographs beyond the realm of 'straight documentation' and further comment on the shifting meaning of photographs as they are consumed within and beyond the archive and set apart from their original context.

Andrew has undertaken photographic projects both nationally and internationally and has exhibited widely on the east coast of Australia. He has undertaken a number of artist’s residencies and was the 2010 resident artist at Wollongong Art Gallery. In 2018 Andrew was invited to exhibit as part of Primavera, the Museum of Contemporary Art's (MCA) annual exhibition of young Australian artists aged 35 and under. In recent years Andrew has completed a Masters of Information Studies and currently works in the museum and archive sector, specifically in archive management. This work has had a significant influence on his current photography practice.

Contact

andrewtenison@gmail.com

Education

2010 – 2014 MA Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

2006 – 2008 MA Photomedia, College of Fine Arts, University of NSW.

2003 – 2005 BA Photography, Charles Sturt University.

Solo Exhibitions

2019 - "Let Me Imagine You", Brindley Gallery, Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), Albury, NSW.

2017 - "Let Me Imagine You", Huw Davies Gallery, PhotoAccess, Manuka, ACT.

2010 – “Calenture” Resident Artist exhibition, Wollongong Art Gallery (WAG), Wollongong, NSW.

Group Exhibitions

2018 - "Primavera 2018", Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney, NSW.

Click Here For "Primavera 2018" Media Release

2014 – Steel City Sound: 50 years of music in Wollongong 1965 - 1915, Wollongong Art Gallery, NSW.

2013 – “FYSHWICK” Manning Clark House, Forrest, ACT.

2012 – Resident Artist Program 20th Anniversary, Wollongong Art Gallery, NSW.

2010 – Papa Goose Gallery, Melbourne, VIC.

2009 – “7”, Project Contemporary Artspace, Wollongong, NSW.

2008 – “Port Kembla…The Changing Face of Your Port” Artinport, Wollongong, NSW.

2007 – “Liqu(id)”, Kudos Gallery, Sydney, NSW.

2007 – “Australian Bookbinders Exhibition 2007”. A traveling exhibition: exhibited by the Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney and Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania.

2007 – “Shift”, Wollongong Art Gallery, NSW.

2006 – “intobeing”, UNSW, COFA – College of Fine Arts, Sydney, NSW.

2005 – “Fin”, Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), Albury, NSW.

2005 – “Red: Regional Survey”, Beehive Art Space, Albury, NSW. Run as part of the 2005 Albury Regional Art Gallery “Go Photo” Festival.

2004 – “The 2004 Josephine Ulrick National Photography Prize for Portraiture”, Tweed River Art Gallery, Murwillumbah, NSW.

2003 – “RAWWAR”, Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA), Albury, NSW

Residencies

2012 – Resident Artist at Warilla High School, NSW. Undertaken as part of the 2012 Arts Council Of Australia ‘Artists In Schools’ program. April – October 2012.

2010 – Resident Artist at St Mary Star of the Sea College Wollongong, NSW. October 2010.

2010 – Resident Artist at Wollongong Art Gallery, NSW. January – August 2010.

Media And Publications

2019 – ABC Goulburn Murray – Interview with Allison Jess about Let Me Imagine You, aired Thursday the 14th of March 2019.

2019 - ABC Arts - These Australian artists are making waves with work that explores the complex, contested issue of identity - Article by arts editor Dee Jefferson; portraits by Teresa Tan.

2018 - The Monthly - 'Primavera 2018: Young Australian Artists at the MCA' - Review by Andy Butler

2018 – Photojournalism Now: Friday Round Up 16 November 2018 - Primavera 2018 - Review by Alison Stieven-Taylor

2018 – Young Australian Artists, Primavera 2018 exhibition catalogue essay by Tess Maunder.

2017 – The Canberra Times, exhibition review of “Let Me Imagine You” by Peter Haynes titled “Dealing with war, history and horror”, Wednesday 2nd of August 2017.

2017 – Kulture Kid Digest - Interview by Vick Gwyn.

2010 – Illawarra Mercury, article titled “Art vision focuses on area’s props, models” by Laurel-Lee Roderick about the residency exhibition “Calenture”, Monday 1st of February, 2010.

2010 – Illawarra Mercury, article titled “Young artist interprets gallery works through a camera lens” by Laura Patton about the residency exhibition “Calenture”.

2010 – Illawarra Mercury, article titled “Different focus on the city” by Elyssa King about the residency exhibition “Calenture”.

2010 – Trouble Magazine, August Salon, Image “Gather” from “Calenture” showcased.

2010 – Calenture Opening Night, Wollongong Art Gallery - Film by Theme Media.

2009 – Illawarra Mercury, Weekender article, Saturday 21st March, page 13. One page article titled “Years of work “ chronicling the exhibition “7”.

2003 – Off The Wall, Newsletter of Albury Regional Art Gallery, Vol 7 no 4. Image “The American Way” used to promote “RAWWAR” exhibition held in November 2003.