Lisa Tomasetti

Lisa Tomasetti
‘The APPlication of Mercy’

I’ve long been fascinated by historical image making and the power of
the Old Masters. They were masters of portraiture, but also of a process,
a process that has seen their treasured images last for centuries.
This series explores notions of permanence and impermanence within
the digital age and the value we put on images that are easily taken,
altered and/or deleted.
In the modern era is the photograph more a message than a memory?
Today we curate every moment of our lives. We record our experiences,
but rarely re-visit them. Do we record more but remember less?
500 years on, the Old Masters’ works are treasured masterpieces, testament
to the skill and expertise of revered artists. This is in stark contrast
to the fleeting, instantaneous click/post/delete imaging of the modern
era, where artistic processes are commodified, automated, with powerful
tools and filters available on every smartphone.
The APPlication of Mercy asks, with digital image making corporatized,
and the life of the image measured in seconds, how may lasting art still
be made?

Lisa Tomasetti has also been a Film and Television Stills photographer for the past eleven years. Her credits include Shine, Star Wars Episode Two, Dirty Deeds, Bad Boy Bubby, Dead Heart, Kath & Kim, Charlotte’s Web.

Education

1988
Bachelor Visual Arts, Photography, Cinematography, South Australian University, Underdale

1983
Bachelor Communication Studies, Literary Studies, Art, South Australian University, Magill

Awards
2011
Finalist, National Portrait Gallery, Portrait Prize, Canberra

2010
Finalist, Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Art Gallery

2009
Finalist, National Portrait Gallery Photographic Prize, Canberra

2007
Finalist, The Inaugural William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, VIC
Finalist, Albury National Photographic Portrait Prize, Albury Regional Gallery, NSW
Finalist, Sunshine Coast Art Prize, Caloundra, Regional Art Gallery, QLD

2006
Finalist, Archibald Photographic Portrait Prize, Art Gallery of NSW

1993
Australia Council Studio, Besozzo, Italy

1991
Exhibition Materials Grant, SA Department for the Arts

1991
Travel Grant, SA Department for the Arts, Production Photographer, British Theatre Company

Solo Exhibitions
2013
Behind the Scenes; The Australian ballet on the International Stage
Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide
James Makin Gallery, Melbourne

2011
Burnt Memory, Hill Smith Gallery, Adelaide

2010
Burnt Memory, GallerySmith, Melbourne
Burnt Memory, Harrison Galleries, Sydney

2009
Burnt Memory, Hoopers Art Gallery, London

2008
Unwritten Skin, Gallery 101, Vic

2007
Unwritten Skin, Byron McMahon Gallery, NSW, 1918 Artspace, Shanghai

2006
Of Blessed Memory, Gallery 101, Melbourne

2005
Vanilla and Misfortune, Byron McMahon Gallery, Sydney
Vanilla and Misfortune, Gallery 101, Melbourne

2002
First Kiss, Monash Art Gallery, Melbourne VIC
Byron Mapp Gallery, Sydney NSW

2000
Volvo Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Silent Breath, Stills Gallery, Sydney, NSW

1998
One, The Greenaway Art Gallery, SA
Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne
First Draft Gallery, Sydney

1996
Broken Places, Stills Gallery, Sydney, NSW
The Greenaway Art Gallery, SA

1995
Quench, Contemporary Art Centre, SA

1994
Piacere, The Greenaway Art Gallery, SA

1993
Passion, The Greenaway Art Gallery, SA

Selected Group Exhibitions
2007
Clearings, Gallery 101, Melbourne

1994
AGFA Photographic National Touring Exhibition, NSW

Collections

Albury Regional Art Centre, NSW; Artbank, Australia; Australian National Gallery, Canberra; Photographs from the production of ‘The Seagull’ by the State Theatre Company selected for the Chekhov Museum, Moscow; Monash Gallery of Art, VIC; South Australian Art Gallery, SA; Western Australian Art Gallery, WA