I’d like to introduce the photographer for my next album: Roger Stuart. He’s a wonderful photographer and also my father.
His photos touch me particularly. As well as being stunning images, they include some of the places that are the most important to me, particularly the far south coast of New South Wales in Australia.
I have chosen one of his photos to be the cover for my next album ‘Aftermath’. I particularly love this image as it’s taken from the southern headland of Cuttagee Beach, a very important and defining place for me.
Cuttagee Beach, on the far south coast of New South Wales, is a place where I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on life, and I’ve had countless great bodysurfing sessions there, particularly when the waves and sandbanks line up perfectly! In this photo you can feel the power and infinity of the ocean. It has a dark brooding quality but at the same time there’s an intense light suggested in the image. So for me it’s the perfect photo to go with the title of the album, ‘Aftermath’. In that word there’s the notion of the after of a disastrous event. The darkness of the image suggests that event but at the same time that intense light we feel suggests re-growth and optimism. The photo also has an extremely meditative aspect which pairs well with my music, which is highly based on cycles and repetition, like a mantra.
I’m including limited prints of this image in the rewards section of my Crowdfunding campaign for ‘Aftermath’. Along with that photo there are some other great photo prints and packages included in the rewards of the campaign:
Support Aftermath New Album Now
Monaro Winter, 2015
The beautiful moonlike landscape of the The Monaro Plains is situated on the road between where I used to live, Canberra, and the place which now feels more like my home in Australia, the Sapphire Coast in New South Wales. I’ve driven through there countless times and that stunning ghostly landscape looks different every time according to the season, light, weather… I rediscover it each time
Annunciation, 2011
In this photo a curious group of cows is backlit by the mysterious and blinding light on the Great Dividing Range in New South Wales.
Moonlit Waves
A photo of churning waves, taken from the northern headland of Cuttagee Beach under a full moon. A magical moment captured at one of my favourite places in the world.
Storm-Birds, Black Cockatoos, Cuttagee 2013
Another photo from Cuttagee; when the black cockatoos start moving, it’s said that that means the rain is arriving. Their eerie cry calls out like an announcement of the storm to come.
Murrah/Mumbulla, clearing storm, 2014
To the local Yuin people, Mumbulla is a traditional men’s mountain, and contains initiation sites where boys become men. Gulaga, close by, is known as the Mother Mountain, and has always been a woman’s place.
Horse Stairs
The series wouldn’t be complete without a photo from Paris, which is now my home town. This elegant photo is taken at the Musée Cernuschi in the 8th arrondissement of Paris.
Bronte Storm
This photo is taken from Bronte Beach in Sydney on a very stormy day. I absolutely love this part of Sydney where some of my close family lives. The coastline between Bondi beach, Bronte Beach and beyond is amazing.
