• © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
  • © Jon Frank, On Bones
    © Jon Frank, On Bones
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On bones: the new book and exhibition 20 years in the making

7 August 2019
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A new book and exhibition by Australian photographer Jon Frank documents street scenes across the world in the lead up to the new millennium.

© Jon Frank, On Bones
© Jon Frank, On Bones

In the six weeks leading up to the year 2000, Frank traversed five continents to capture life through his lens. The result is a new book that urges us to reflect on the passage of time.

‘My concept for this work was to document commonplace street scenes using this highly specific moment in time as a point of reference," he explains.

"I would travel for six weeks, through five continents, finishing on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. The photographs are not about the end of the millennium per se: only those from 31st December directly relate to it. Peering through a glass in search of myself, these are mere fragments from the spinning mess, where time is laid down at an agonising creep spanning hundreds of centuries’."

Waiting 20 years before releasing this body of work in any form to allow the images time to develop in a cultural sense, the photos are now available in Frank’s latest book On Bones, with a selection of images from the book to be exhibited at the Ilford Galerie in Sydney’s CBD from August 8.

The cities featured are Calcutta, India; Jerusalem, Israel; Moscow, Russia; Lagos, Nigeria; Bogota, Colombia; and New York City, USA.

Prior to On Bones, Frank has produced an expansive and award-winning body of work across mediums and environments. He is arguably one of the world’s best water cinematographers, renowned for some of the most interesting and beautiful ocean images from around the globe.

© Jon Frank, On Bones
© Jon Frank, On Bones

However, the still image is his preferred medium.

“My photographic method when working in an unknown location is, from the first step into the street, to trust instinct for guidance. It’s risky, but beneath this haphazard approach is a faith I will end up where I need to be. Many days I’d walk for eight hours, managing only to expose a single roll of film.”

Jon Frank’s On Bones can be purchased via Frank's webstore for $50. 

Exhibition details

Ilford Galerie, Ted’s World of Imaging, 317 Pitt St, Sydney.

Exhibition is open daily from 9am-5pm on weekends and 9am-6pm weekdays (8pm on Thursday night) until August 28.

Find out more here.

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