Guy Grabowsky

Guy Grabowsky is a Melbourne-based artist who creates photographic works of art with and without a camera. Grabowsky graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) from the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne, in 2018, and has since been curated into 11 group exhibitions. Delaying his scholarship by one year due to the global pandemic, he commenced an MFA in Photography at The New School / Parsons School of Design in August 2022.

What sort of art do you make?

I work with the photographic medium, utilising both its process and language to conceptualise and create work. I am interested in our psychological and perceptual relationships to photography, and I play with unorthodox methods of making photographs to alter expectations associated with the constructs of the ‘photograph' and ‘image’.

The outcomes often take form as photographic prints produced with – and sometimes without – a camera, while also combining digital technology – such as scanners – with analogue modes of production. My work is the result of an exploration to decode, deconstruct and reinterpret the photographic image.

How do you create these photographs?

It depends. The figurative works are created with a film camera, after which images are produced and manipulated either in the darkroom and/or digitally with a scanner and other technologies.

The abstract works are cameraless. These images are predominantly produced by processing film negatives in an unconventional way, then scratching and painting onto and into the surface of the film to form an image, after which the film is further manipulated and printed in the darkroom.

If you had to nominate one work to date that encapsulates your approach, which one would it be?

The Image 2018. The work was captured in Milan, Italy using 120 film and printed in Düsseldorf, Germany. Due to a collision within the frame of the camera lens, a mutation occurred, birthing a fictional, alternate reality viewed through the looking glass. All aspects of The Image, from its title through to its tremendous scale, suggest an exaggeration, alluding to the anxiety of photography. [image attached]

Are your methods always evolving?

Absolutely. While being in New York I have been incorporating more sculptural components into my work. For example, recently I have been scouting found objects on the street, manipulating them in various ways and pairing them with photographs I’ve made.

What has been most inspiring about your first year at Parsons?

The friendships I’ve made with other people studying there. Also the location – being able to create work in central Manhattan is incredible.

How is the AusArt Fellowship supporting your study and research endeavours?

Without the generous contribution of the AusArt Fellowship I would not be able to pursue my MFA at Parsons. The Fellowship is supporting a large chunk of my tuition, which is enabling me to allocate more savings to living expenses while studying here.

The Fellowship has also introduced me to other recipients and people working with the AFNGA, all of whom I’ve formed meaningful connections with. And I’ve been fortunate to be invited to various functions and excursions through the Fellowship. All these experiences have added to my experience living, studying and making work in New York.

What have you experienced or had access to while studying in the US that you couldn’t have experienced or accessed in Australia?

The continuous turnover of visual art on show in New York. I try to visit galleries at least once a week. Going to galleries and experiencing them in person is the best kind of research any artist can have, especially when younger, emerging artists are the ones exhibiting. Some highlights for me include Dia Beacon, many of the larger galleries in Chelsea and some of the smaller galleries in Chinatown.

Has studying in the US helped expand your professional network?

Yes, I have been fortunate to form connections with people in my cohort and faculty at Parsons, most of whom are artists, and like myself, have travelled from other parts of the world to be in New York. It has been extremely rewarding to converse and exchange stories and knowledge with these people. I hope to continue these connections outside of the program and into the future, whether that be via collaboration, visiting each other and/or continuing a stream of dialogue.