Robert Earp is our featured artist this week on Necromancy Radio.
Robert is an accomplished advertising photographer, photomaker and digital conceptual artist from Melbourne, Australia.
Hallelujah, The tears are welling in my eyes again
Hallelujah, I need twenty big buckets to catch them in
Hallelujah, And twenty pretty girls to carry them down
Hallelujah, And twenty deep holes to bury them in.
Written by Nick Cave.
One of the joys of writing about art and music, is quite often they amalgamate and inspire artists which in turn provides a dialogue within their works. The following works are just a few of Robert’s portfolio which you can see on his website robertearp.com and as our interview unfolds, you will discover not only does some of the work have Post Punk influence from the likes of Joy Division, but also the history of Chinese Opera and the evolution of China’s modernity in recent years. Robert’s eye for the dark side of beauty is ever present in his latest works entitled ‘Shanghai Shadows’ and ‘Shanghai Shadows 2’.
Although a black and white series, they are representative of the modern woman against a historic setting in some of the most beautiful backdrops from his wanderings and photography in the back streets of old Shanghai. The images are composited, which means the models are shot in a studio setting and then masterfully combined with the imagery of these settings to create an almost cinematic quality to the final images. I have been lucky to see ‘Shanghai Shadows 3’ imagery, which hasn’t been launched officially on social media, however Robert won an award for this in New York late last year. Necromancy will be updating you all with a preview of this in the next few weeks.
In ‘Shanghai Shadows 2’ Robert brings to life the streets of Shanghai from the perspective of a fashion photographer as well as his keen observation and story telling over the last few years. Robert frequently visits Asia for business as well as holiday from his busy schedule. I spoke to Robert from his stay in Bali and although the hustle and bustle of the city behind him provided the typical humid ambiance, it didn’t detract from the heart of what matters to his work and a candid chat about his life and career.
Robert has an upcoming exhibition at the Black Eye Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney from May 15 until June 4th, to exhibit for the International Photography Awards held during the ‘Head On’ Festival. Be sure to check that out if you are in Sydney. This exhibition will feature his latest works featuring the fabulous Venus Virgin Tomarz exhibition pieces.
For all enquiries you can find Robert Earp in the social links below:
