Drew Pettifer

ABOUT THE PROJECT

"Less than Lovers" is a monograph of 55 new photographs by Melbourne artist Drew Pettifer. Edited by Kyla McFarlane, freelance curator, writer, editor and Associate Curator, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, the book is a selection of images all shot on 35mm film since the publication of Pettifer's first monograph in 2011.

FROM M.33'S MEDIA RELEASE

“The camera desires what I desire, it captures these subjects and possesses them. It records these moments for me, and I in turn share them with my audience (with the subjects’ consent).” Drew Pettifer, 2014

Following hot on the heels of his playfully provocative 2011 publication "I keep mine hidden", Drew Pettifer presents a more languid, more moody and delicate collection of images in his latest book from M.33. Once again taking its name from a song title; his one from the Japanese band, Hoahio’s Less Than Lovers, More than Friends, the new book is beautifully designed and laid out by Joseph Johnson.

Edited by Melbourne curator Kyla Mcfarlane from a vast collection of Pettifer’s visual diaries, the resulting body of work - which McFarlane describes in her accompanying essay ‘Heatwave’ as ‘a complex party Pettifer is inviting us to’ - traverses a somewhat different terrain for Pettifer. As opposed to the exclusively male, sexually charged queer universe of his previous work, here we see a more open and varied world - more reflective of the wider milieu Pettifer moves in. Photographs of heterosexual couples and young women sit alongside ones of male couples, images of Mount Fuji, and young men isolated in natural locations. That is not to say that sex and nudity are absent in this book, as for Pettifer these aspects are central and in some ways animate the collection of often-disparate images.

“There is an obsessive collecting within my practice as I record these moments with these young subjects. The works start to fall into typologies within the archive of images that I create and these typologies seem to shift over time. Regardless of my conscious desires, these narratives, these collections of images, continue to unfold throughout my work." Drew Pettifer, 2014.

The funds will be used to cover some of the costs associated with producing the publication that will not be recovered by sales. In effect the publication is being sold at a subsidised price and this campaign is covering this subsidy. You can contribute to this campaign and assist with the funding of this subsidy in exchange for rewards like advanced copies of the publication and original artworks.

If we surpass our budget, all funds will go towards realising an exhibition of these works.

The project is well supported by a range of talented people who will see it come to fruition. The main challenges are purely financial, but when it comes down to it the project will be funded on credit if the campaign is unsuccessful.