You can tell a lot about a photographer by their chosen subject matter. Melbourne’s Brooke Holm is drawn to nature’s deepest and most remote spots for her personal projects, and goes to great lengths to find them. (She’s even been to Antarctica!). Her quest to capture the road less travelled reflects her personality – quiet, measured, but fiercely determined.
Brooke’s latest photographic series Salt and Sky follows a similar path, and continues to explore her fascination with nature, and how humanity engages with it. Opening at Modern Times, this exhibition was shot at UNESCO Heritage Site Shark Bay in Western Australia, and depicts aerial shots of the area’s famous salt fields. ‘The site is a world renowned area of natural beauty and biological diversity,’ mentions Brooke. ‘The salt fields demonstrate an intensely industrial operation co-existing alongside the natural environment, and is a prime example of nature and humans interacting and intertwining.’
While shooting the series, it was Brooke’s intention to share how man-made structures can impact nature. ‘It’s a conflicting feeling, on one hand you are concerned with the real affects on the environment, however at the same time it is so visually stunning,’ she recounts. ‘I’m still searching for the answers, observing and documenting.’
The last six months have been a whirlwind for Brooke. She has been busy working with clients such as Cult/Adam Goodrum, Hannah Tribe Architect, FLACK Studio, and the National Gallery of Victoria, as well as shooting upcoming books for Loose Leaf and Megan Morton, and of course, working regularly alongside her longtime collaborator and friend, stylist Marsha Golemac.
This exhibition will be Brooke’s last on Australian soil for a while, as the young photographer is about to move to New York indefinitely in a few weeks time. ‘The city has been tugging at my heartstrings for many years now, and always a one day kind of idea,’ she says. ‘Being who I am, I need change, adventure, exploration and knowledge. I crave it, so staying still for too long doesn’t suit me!’
Salt and Sky by Brooke Holm
Open 23 June until 7 July
Modern Times
311 Smith St, Fitzroy
All works are available in a limited edition of 14, and are available in two sizes, 150 x 100 cm and 100 x 66 cm.