Disenchantments of the World by Lilli Waters

Arts & Culture

21 Nov

Photography or Renaissance painting? The lines are blurred with Lilli Waters’ latest captivating and ethereal collection.

Words: Hande Renshaw | Photography: Lilli Waters

Lilli Waters’ (pictured) latest exhibition at Curatorial & Co. Photo - Lilli Waters.

*Afterlife* by Lilli Waters from her current exhibition at Curatorial & Co. Photo - Lilli Waters.

*Hourglass* by Lilli Waters from her current exhibition at Curatorial & Co. Photo - Lilli Waters.

Award-winning photographer Lilli Waters’ latest exhibition Disenchantments of the World explores the decadence and disillusions of contemporary living, examining how humans treat the natural environment.

The moody series of still-life photographs and short films is intensely evocative; it’s like walking through a Rembrandt painting. Each large-scale print features fish and crabs, with flowers and fruit suspended in the velvety dark water, juxtaposed by entwined sheets of bright blue g(littering) ribbons of plastic.

Each photograph depicts the fragility of the natural world and its uncertainties, directing attention to its impermanence and reflecting on how humans treat the environment in pursuit of prosperity. This interplay of beauty and darkness is something Waters achieves masterfully in this series.

“Some of the works are almost surreally pristine and pure, though a closer look reveals subtle plastic elements that are ubiquitous in this throwaway world and point to an unease,” she says. “In other images, flowers are enveloped by dark and ominous black oil spills and a sense of decay.”

The exhibition is on at Curatorial + Co. gallery until the 28 November - bookings are essential. See here for availabilities.

“This series of underwater still lives is inspired by Rembrandt’s paintings in the Riijksmuseum - images of flowers symbolising beauty, nobility and prosperity and their impermanence.”

— Lilli Waters

VISIT
DISENCHANTMENTS OF THE WORLD 18TH NOVEMBER - 28TH NOVEMBER CURATORIAL + CO. GALLERY STUDIO 1, 175 CLEVELAND STREET, SYDNEY

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Hande Renshaw

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