As The Australian Ballet prepares to launch its 2010 season, we look back on 2009 and the images that defined our year. The 2009 ‘Elevation’ photo shoot was a collaboration between 3 Deep Design, photographer Tim Richardson, fashion designer Toni Maticevski and of course the dancers, who were superimposed over seas, skies, dissolving sunrises and mountainous peaks. We chatted to Tim, Toni and 3 Deep’s David Roennfeldt about capturing art in motion.
Did you know very much about ballet before you shot the company?
Tim Richardson: I had photographed The Australian Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet a few years back and had also known the 3 Deep guys for a while (since college). Dance in all its forms has always interested me. The discipline of the dancers – their ability to control their physiques – has always inspired me.
Toni Maticevski: I love the ballet. I have been to many performances. I don’t know too much about certain stories but have been learning more about the technique all the time.
David Roennfeldt: We had been working within the contemporary dance arena for four years prior to establishing the relationship with The Australian Ballet. We really immersed ourselves into the culture of the dance landscape at that time which no doubt informed us about the landscape of dance within Australia. Our experience with The Australian Ballet over the past six years has meant that our understanding of ballet as an art form has expanded considerably and we are constantly learning, researching and experiencing ballet.
Can you walk us through some of your influences on this shoot and the techniques you employed?
Tim Richardson: The shoot began with the idea of incorporating the Australian landscape into the ballet campaign. We (3 Deep and myself) were inspired by the freedom of expression and image textures that we found in 70s Australian ballet books. With that in mind we decided to take the ballet campaign into a more emotive direction. This led me to propose the idea of a campaign based on fluid ‘image composites’, where we blended the dance and location imagery in a unified aesthetic. I looked at cinematic references – film makers like Antonioni – and images of landscape that were less traditional and more like abstract paintings. Turner came to mind early on and really informed my use of colour.
David Roennfeldt: Historical research is always a starting point for our work. It provides perspective and distance on a problem and informs you of what has come before you. We always look to ‘mass’ a great deal of reference, research, images and texts. From here we start to formulate narratives, stories or pathways from the things that we are observing. We find that the concept of ‘massing’ opens up possibilities that might not otherwise be considered.
How did you find the experience of working with dancers, as opposed to models?
Tim Richardson: The physics of movement and light has always fascinated me. I find myself constantly looking for the moments ‘between’ what is expected or readily seen. The dancer’s ability to reach states or physical grace is unparalleled and really made my response and process quite effortless. They could return again, and again to a single movement.
Toni Maticevski: They were great fun and also very open to trying things out. Like models they were happy to find the place where the photographer and the creative team and I wanted to take them.
The 2009 shoot was very much a collaborative effort – can you talk me through how all of the creatives came together?
Tim Richardson: I’ve known Toni for over eight years. He was perfect for the project as his fashion aesthetic has always followed the flow of the human body – particularly the female form. The mix of the fabrics and the landscapes was an element I conceived before we shot and it was a deliberate choice. Toni’s familiarity with the drape and fall of fabrics brought the images into the ethereal.
David Roennfeldt: We have been working with Tim Richardson on and off for the past ten years and it was Tim who introduced us to Toni Maticevski some years ago at a book launch, we have all been working together since. The 2009 campaign was the culmination and celebration of the Ballets Russes influence and it seemed appropriate that we involve fashion, photography and design.
What do you consider is the epitome of true beauty?
Toni Maticevski: A warm heart, smiling eyes and laughter.
Tim Richardson: Life – energy – positivity. Beauty is not a thing to me; it’s the expression of life at its most potent.
The Australian Ballet’s 2010 season is launched on Wednesday 16 September
