Black Eye Gallery and Head On Photo Festival 2017 are pleased to announce US artist Robin Schwartz and her exhibition Amelia and the Animals

Amelia and the Animals is an extraordinary body of work drawn from actual journeys undertaken by mother and daughter in the interspecies world they inhabit with animals, of all varieties, over the past thirteen years.

The world that is explored is one where the line between human and animal overlaps or is blurred, where animals are part of mother and child’s world and humans are a part of theirs. Fantasies and eccentricities are explored to create a cultural space in the photographs where animals not only co-exist with humans, but also interact as full partners.

Schwartz is driven to depict relationships with animals in the hope that these moments portray the sameness of humans and animals. The images show young Amelia’s enormous fortitude and ingenuity through her ability to relate to each individual animal with kindness and respect. Daughter becomes more than muse through her capacity to be smart, brave and tough enough to calmly cajole these animals. The temporal aspect of this project only enriches as the subject matures and animal explorations expand.

Amelia and the Animals presents a series showing absolute affinity between mother, daughter and the animal kingdom. Where dreams and an exploration to discover the extraordinary are documented through a child’s life.

Robin Schwartz earned a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Pratt Institute and is a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow in Photography. Her photographs are held in several museum collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

About the Head on Photo Festival

From mental illness and motherhood, ISIS and nudists, to the nightlife of Kings Cross in the 1970’s and rare and unseen images of David Bowie, Head on Photo Festival returns to Sydney in 2017 with a stunning array of exhibitions from around the world. Running from Thursday 5- Sunday 28 May 2017, Head On Photo Festival is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious photo festivals. Since it began in 2010 the Festival has evolved from 70 events to 180 throughout its program. This year, over 60 featured exhibitions have been nominated as highlights of the Festival.