About the Webinar
In her work, Karen is often drawn to opposing themes that may symbolize darkness and light. For example, the relationship between resilience and vulnerability is consistently explored through her portrait images. These same themes often appear in her studies of nature and the landscape. It is through the exploration of such themes that she can connect with her subject on a deeper level. She is also drawn to ideas around the transient nature of time and impermanence, which are consistently explored in her work.
The creative process allows her to reflect on her own identity and personal experiences wrestling with metaphorical darkness and light. Creating provides a place for solace, meaning, and connection.
About the Presenter
Karen Waller is an Adelaide based photographer and artist, who explores a range of subjects and genres through her work. These include portrait, landscape, nature, and aerial images. A childhood spent in rural South Australia, has been significant to Karen’s sense of aesthetics and subject choices. Importantly, her appreciation for the natural world formed when she was young. She studied visual art with a painting focus following her secondary education. Karen transitioned from painting to photography as her chosen medium and continues to draw upon her painting background in the creation of her photographic images.
“In my work, I aim to capture opposing themes and the relationship between the two. Strength and vulnerability are often explored in both my portrait and landscape imagery. In my portrait work, I aim to create images which elicit a visceral response from the viewer as they connect with the humanity of my subjects. Exploring ideas around fragility, loss and vulnerability are themes that continue to be at the heart of my creative process. I aim to find a balance between the metaphorical darkness and light both in portrait and landscape images. I search for landscapes which challenge traditional concepts of beauty and use these places to reveal the unobserved in our everyday surroundings. Through my work, ultimately the aim is to challenge the viewer and their perception”
Karen was a member of the former AIPP (Australian Institute of Professional Photography) from 2012-2021 and was recognised as a Master Photographer. She won numerous awards and the title of South Australian AIPP Epson Portrait Photographer of the year in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2017. Some of her significant achievements include being a National Photographic Portrait Prize finalist in 2020. In 2022, Karen won the Portrait Story Category in the International Portrait Photographer of the Year. She also won the People Category in Capture Magazine Mono Awards 2022 and was a finalist in the Portrait Category in the HeadOn Photo Awards. In the Australian Photographic Prize 2023, Karen won the two portrait categories and the Print Photographer of the Year 2023.
Living in numerous county towns and regions in South Australia during her childhood, Karen developed an appreciation for nature and the environment. These themes often inform her work and subject choices today. This connection with nature has seen her develop her landscape work in recent years. Having recently added the genre of aerial photography to her repertoire, Karen returns regularly to explore and capture the many salt lakes on Yorke Peninsula.
Website: https://karenwaller.com.au/
