CITIZEN 1997–2012
Peter Thomason, Reverend, Melbourne, Australia, 1997
Anonymous, Diver, Port Augusta, Australia, 2004
Miss Wong, Prostitute, Simao, China, 2003
Anni Finsterer, Actor & My Wife, Erowal Bay, Australia, 2007
Cormac and Callum Kenne, My Kids, Sydney, Australia, 2004
Anneliese Seubert, Model, Sydney, Australia, 1997
Ron Jeremy, Porn Star, Sydney, Australia, 2012
Akira Isagawa, Fashion Designer, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Joel Edgerton, Actor, Sydney, Australia, 2007
Ben Mendelsohn, Actor, Sydney, Australia, 2001
Mrs Zhuo and Mrs Wong, Patient and Doctor, Simao, China, 2003
Do An Voi, Prostitute, Muang Khua, Laos, 2002
Angus Young, Musician, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Ron Maitland, Homeless, Sydney, Australia, 2000
Sean, Homeless, Sydney, Australia, 2000
Ettikai Reuben, Dancer, Sydney, Australia, 2005
Ralph Winmar, Traveler, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Anonymus, Huli Tribe, Tari, Papua New Guinea, 1998
Anonymous, Yangbaiying, Tibet, China, 2006
Anonymous, Muang Khua, Laos, 2002
Ll Yan and Ma Ruyin, Truck Owners, Muang Khua, Laos, 2002
Wang Chunhua, Truck Owner, Muang Khua, Laos, 2002
Alfred Vincent, Child Sex Offender, Christchurch, NZ, 2002
Camilla, Artist, Bowral, Australia, 2008
Nik Robinson, Art Director, Pickle Bottle Creek, Australia, 2009
Rick Fletcher, Prisoner, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2002
Yang Yi La Mo, Property Manager, Beijing, China, 2006
Wei Ping, Volunteer HIV Clinic, Kunming, China, 2003
Chris, Factory Worker, Nhill, Australia, 2001
Tracey Emin, Artist, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Baz Luhrmann, Film Director, Sydney, Australia, 2000
Martin Mischkulnig, Photographer, Sydney, Australia, 2006
Peter Ferris, Order Of Malta, Sydney, Australia, 2005
Malcolm Fraser, Former Prime Minister, Melbourne, Australia, 1998
David Wenham, Actor, Portsea, Australia, 1998
Mrs Noa, Manager, Menlian, China, 1998
Etueni Nasau, Survivor At Sea, Apia, Samoa, 2011
Johnno Mulock, Actor, Sydney, Australia, 1998
Sister Kate McPhee, Nun, Parramatta, Australia, 2006
Ross Turnbull, Homeless, Sydney, Australia, 2006
Meryl Tankard, Choreographer, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Margaret Tuckson, Artist, Sydney, Australia, 2006
Nick Cave, Musician, Melbourne, Australia, 2001
Mark Mordue, Writer, Sydney, Australia, 2007
Ian Abdullah, Artist, Glossop, Australia, 2000
Gilbert Kennedy, 7th Dan Karate Champ, New York, USA, 2010
Anonymous, Wamara Tribe, Mt Hagen, Papua New Guinea, 1998
Anonymous, Mudmen Tribe, Mt Hagen, Papua New Guinea, 1998
Cressida Campbell, Artist, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Rosemary Laing, Artist, Sydney, Australia, 2005
Pauline McLeod, Writer, Sydney, Australia, 2000
Stefan Sagmeister, Graphic Designer, New York, USA, 2008
Brian J Hooper, Child Sex Offender, Christchurch, NZ, 2002
Anonymous, Security Guard, Mt Hagen Papua New Guinea, 1998
Jeffrey Smart, Artist, Sydney, Australia, 2003
Marzell Cole, Concierge, Los Angeles, USA, 2010
Ai Weiwei, Artist, Sydney, Australia, 2008
Erica Stenberg, Traveler, Los Angeles, USA, 2010
Yvonne Margula, Mirarr Elder, Kakadu NP, Australia, 1998
George Miller, Director, Sydney, Australia, 2006
Mick Molloy, Comedian, Melbourne, Australia, 1999
Anonymous, Restaurant Proprietor, Muang Khua, Laos, 2002
Wayne Blair, Actor & Director, Sydney, Australia, 2009
Mona Chuguna, Author, Broome, Australia, 2009
Monica Finsterer, My Mother In Law, Sydney, Australia, 2008
Denzell with Magic, Drifter By Choice, Los Angeles, USA, 2010
Hanna and Reda Hijazi, Teacher, Picton, Australia, 2010
Tony Strickland, Prisoner, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2002
Portraits 1997-2012
These portraits have over time become deeply connected by process alone.
They work alongside the notion of uncertainty and the surrender-to-serendipity. It hooks each person to the next, allowing an examination of an accidental population, gathered across twenty 8 odd years and over sixty countries.
What is this thing that fuses two humans together. The photographer and the photographed. Why turn the camera to this particular shepherd, pornstar, diver, cleaner, tribal dancer or indeed my own family? A manual in my head that is impossible to ignore. The purpose is in the obsessive doing, in the making of the pictures, in the visual exploration of that moment, the act of recording humans in the particular place we both converge at.
Perhaps this documentation of encounters, once collected, illuminates the power of direct contact.
“Non-travelers often warn the traveler of dangers, and the traveler dismisses such
fears; but the presumption of hospitality is just as odd as the presumption of danger.
You have to find out for yourself. Take the leap - go as far as you can. Try staying out of touch. Become a stranger in a strange land. Acquire humility. Learn the language. Listen to what people are saying. Look at what they do.”
[Paul Theroux, from the foreword of my book Chasing Summer, 2004]
“When Kenne sets off in his further travels, he leaves behind smiling people, no one shakes fists at him, no one chases him to destroy his film or to take away the camera.
This collection is a story of a journey in which mood and aura of the players, are of importance, not adventures and incidents. It holds none of the sensational elements, but photographs and portraits of people who usually fill our private quarters. They remain close to our hearts, collections and volumes similar to those we would want to have in our library, on a shelf, close to us.
These portraits of the people met and this graphic score of the road make up for a unique whole – a picture of a world full of beauty, dignity and optimism, which we all create and in which we want to live.”
[Ryszard Kapuscinski, excerpt of writings about my work, 1999]
The taxonomy of this population was never the purpose, yet it is its inevitable outcome.
An attempt to minimise an acquired and inevitable awareness of self, instead you are now part of a collective. The sum now a democratic equalizer.
No borders, no sides, no issue.
So.
It could be this.
Of seeing eye to eye.
Of being a citizen in the world, awake and curious about the other, the stranger.
To me, ultimately, I have experienced love.
CITIZEN – the book and the show launched at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra 2012. It later toured 5 capital cities around Australia.
CITIZEN -The Limited book – containing 4 Type C original prints and boxed in a linen clam shell, is still available to purchase.
The regular edition of CITIZEN is available.
