Like Ice in the Sunshine II (LA) – Simone Rosenbauer
M Contemporary is excited to be showing the new exhibition by acclaimed photographer Simone Rosenbauer. This exhibition is the continuation to her first solo exhibition with the gallery Like Ice In the Sunshine. The works were created during her residency in LA.
Like Ice in the Sunshine I focuses on the happy simplicity of the iconic Australian Paddle Pops to dwell on ephemeral experiences and to embody the frailty of changing identities. Photographed on monochrome colourful backgrounds, ice melts under the hot Australian sun and is captured by the camera, leading to childlike summer metaphors. Objects that trigger memory and stir a longing for things that have passed, their changing form animated by the sun and captured in a frozen sliver of time.
Rosenbauer has drawn upon her personal views of the self, fleeting moments and chequered memories. By taking the happy simplicity of an ice block in the sun to capture moments loved and lost, to dwell on ephemeral experiences and to chart the strength, and frailty, of changing identities.
The natural sun is left to shape a mix of perennially loved paddle pops, ice becomes liquid, pooling around the melting whole. Colors merge, others separate, some creep away from their host. Flaking, sloughing, gently seeping – each and everybody tells a different tale. As bold, quintessentially summertime images they nevertheless capture a melancholy reality: bitter or sweet, all memories eventually melt into the flow of life.
Rosenbauer undertook the new series Like Ice in the Sunshine II, while on residency at 18th Street Arts Center, Los Angeles.This series investigates American popsicles melting under the Californian sun. Sydney and Los Angeles are known for their beach culture and their harsh sun during summertime – both locations are situated on almost the same latitude (Sydney 33.8650 S, Los Angeles 34.0500 N). Both series look to explore the similarities and differences embodied in the frozen moments of the two countries whilst attempting to create a dialogue and relationship of place between Australia and America.
