Suburban Fetish
Since 1995 Sandy Nicholson (photographer) and Chris Johnston (writer) have been documenting the private worlds of sexual fetishism in suburban Melbourne. They met with each subject, in some cases a number of times, to discuss their project and establish a relationship of trust before each photographic shoot. The resulting exhibition consists of 18 sets of colour portrait prints and text, interspersed with colour suburban landscapes. The people, activities and obsessions represented here are not those of an overtly visible, inner-city, transgressive sexual scene, but rather those of the more private, middle-Australian realm of suburbia.
Each subject is represented by a triptych of two colour photographs with accompanying text. The subjects are photographed in their own domestic environments in manners determined in collaboration between subject and photographer. The texts impart basic information about each subject, and allow space for the subjects to relate their own 'story' in whatever manner they see fit.
The aim of the project has been to establish a direct document of fetishism as an everyday, even integral and non-threatening thread of life in Australian society. SUBURBAN FETISH demystifies the closeted worlds of sadomasochism, bondage, discipline and fetishism by documenting them directly against a backdrop of the everyday, the ordinary and the domestic.
-Blair French
This remarkable project premiered at Fotofeis '97 in Scotland, one of the world's premier photographic events. It has since appeared as solo shows at the Australian Center for Photography in Sydney, in Melbourne, Hobart and Broken Hill, Australia, the City Art Museum in Slovenia, in Zagreb, Croatia, and the Tatar Alexander Gallery in Toronto.
About Sandy Nicholson
Growing up in Australia, Sandy collected lizards and snakes. He dreamed of becoming a herpetologist and having his own reptile park. When he abandoned the herpetology dream, Sandy turned to photography. He found that photographs were easier to store and look after than spiders.
He has worked for prestigious publications including the Financial Times Magazine, Wired, Saturday Night Magazine, and People.
Sandy's photographs have exhibited at major venues including the National Portrait Gallery in London, the World Expo in Lisbon, Fotofeis in Scotland, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.
Sandy now lives in Toronto, Canada.