UNSEEN is the second collaborative effort from Brisbane photographers Justin Ma and Thomas Oliver. This instalment at Bean. is a selection of street photographs, taken by Justin and Thomas, from in and around Brisbane’s CBD during the last two years.
For many of us, spectacular moments flutter past our eyes at a hurried pace and eyelashes become the shutter of an empty camera. The rush of wind sweeps from one person to the next and potential images vanish; are missed–unseen. Yet to call a photograph ‘unseen’ is to deny it life. It then becomes the roll photographers to un-do this visual prolapse, and re-collect the pieces scattered throughout time and space onto a jigsaw of daily life. The life of this exhibit is that of Brisbane’s inner city. The black ink on these pages becomes its shadows; its leather boots and footprints in the sidewalk; of arms raise to the sky; and branches bowing down to shop front animals. Its pieces are fragmented, and the frames are small, but the stories are all there, frozen and silent–ready to become seen.
– Thomas Oliver
Bean. Address: 181 George St
