From the series Flying Colour, banner print, pigment prints (performer Eléonore Didier)

Anne Ferran is an Australian photographer. Throughout her far-reaching career, Ferran has been fascinated by history -- in particular, the unknown, anonymous figures that lived but have been otherwise forgotten by time. In her photographs, Ferran often seeks to explore the lives of these figures (often women), or lend a sense of agency to their memories.

From the series Align, pigment print

Ferran’s recent photographs are simple in composition, featuring a central figure -- always female -- wrapped in layers of heavy, stiff-looking fabric. The interest of these works lies in their detail, and the way that they’re often positioned, at least in book format, together with the historic photographs that inspired them.

The figures in Ferran’s works are often obscured -- in series like Flying Colour, feet and hands sometimes poke out from behind a fabric sheet, but give no indication of the identity of the model. In others, like White Against Red, apparent emphasis is placed on the model’s expression, one of hardship, confusion, or frustration.

White Against Red 3, digital print on canvas (performer Ervi Sirén)