About Kink: A Portrait Exhibition

Project 2016-06-05 22:28:07 +1200

Help me to exhibit 12 portraits in Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery.

If you feel you can handle four-and-a-half minutes of charm and charisma, please click the Play button to see a video about the project (and more of the portraits). Alternatively you can simply read the text below!

Important note. When pledging you will be asked for your credit card details. The funds you wish to pledge will only be deducted from your card if we reach the goal of $2500 by the 7th July 2016. If we do not reach the funding goal the project will not go ahead and your card will not be charged.

Who am I

Hi guys. My name is Antony Kitchener. I am a professional photographer, based in Wellington.

I am passionate about portraiture and documentary photography. I love creating visual stories that focus on social, cultural and environmental themes.

Over the past six years I have worked on a number of personal documentary projects: from documenting issues of homelessness and marginalisation at Wellington’s Compassion Centre Soup Kitchen, to local Clown Doctors at work at Wellington Children’s Hospital. This particular project was a finalist in the 2014 New Zealand Geographic Photographer of the Year competition.

As a documentary photographer, I have an interest in photographing sub-cultures and people who belong to distinct communities. Sharing their personal stories through photography can challenge perceptions and preconceived ideas, promote public discourse, or simply raise awareness of a contemporary topic or an under-represented community.

The Project

I need your help to fund the exhibition of a series of 12 portraits at Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne.

Over the past three years or so, I have been working on a series of subtle, stylised portraits of Wellington’s BDSM community. BDSM is about more than just kinky sex. It is about identity, acceptance, trust, openness and honesty. Most of all it is about community.

For me this project was about exploring each individual’s story. 

When I first began this project more than three years ago I was very unsure of what to expect from the people I was to photograph. However I was soon blown-away by the openness, trust, honesty and genuine humility that people within this community shared with me. If you are different, be it physically, emotionally or psychologically, or in your choices, tastes, behaviour or desires, breaking the mould imposed by contemporary social norms can be challenging. Many of the people I met through this project have been totally amazing, open and courageous individuals: they showed great strength of character; of knowing themselves; and of being comfortable with who they are, while living aspects of their lives going against the grain.

The Pitch

Now, initially I had planned to exhibit this work in Wellington, local to the community involved. However, unlike the BDSM community, Wellington’s art industry does not appear to be as open and accepting as I had originally hoped. I have approached a number of galleries in Wellington but all have declined to exhibit these images for various reasons, which is why I decided to look further afield. Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery has offered to host the exhibition of these portraits from the 14-27 October.

I need your help to fund the printing and exhibition costs.

I need to raise a total of $2500 to cover:

• the costs of renting the exhibition space for two weeks - $900

• for printing 12 A2-sized portraits - $700

• a return flight to Melbourne as I have to be there to set up the exhibition - $400

• Plus $500 to cover the costs of producing the rewards and PledgeMe's fees.

For making a pledge, I am offering a variety of rewards from:

• having your name listed on a plaque as a supporter of the exhibition

• or photographic quality A4 and A3 sized prints of any of the images from my website – such as this one - printed on to German photorag paper by The Big Picture. Please visit www.antonykitchener.com and have a look at my work.

• And finally, for those feeling particularly generous (and for those living in or near Wellington), I am offering a portrait session using a Sinar F2 large-format film camera (think photographer hiding under a black cloth) and hand-developed 4”x5” black and white film.

So you’ll get a portrait like this:

Using a camera like this:

So if you believe in the value of diversity and freedom of expression, please support my campaign and help me to promote the universal language of openness, honesty and acceptance, by enabling these portraits to be exhibited.

If you've managed to read this far, thank you for your support.

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