Gideon Obarzanek (b. 1966), choreographer, director and curator, studied at the Australian Ballet School, choreographing his first piece there in 1987. Having joined the Queensland Ballet as a dancer, he continued to create works including Mr Crowther and the Wallflower (1989). Moving to the Sydney Dance Company, he made Sleep No More in 1991 before becoming an independent choreographer. In 1995 he co-founded Chunky Move, which became Victoria's official contemporary dance company. Obarzanek's work, embracing installations, site-specific performance and video, is performed around the world. His many awards include four Helpmanns, three awards for best short documentary film for Dance like Your Old Man (2007) and a New York Bessie award for outstanding choreography and creation for Chunky Move's Tense Dave. He has created projects for the Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and several pieces for Australian and international festivals. In 2020 Obarzanek was appointed Co-Artistic Director and Co-CEO of Melbourne's Rising Festival.
Dave Tacon is a Shanghai-based photographer, director, producer and writer who specialises in reportage, features and portraiture. A two-time Walkley award winner, Tacon has worked for organisations such as the Red Cross, Oxfam and CARE Australia, and his portraits have appeared in countless Australian and international publications.
Purchased 2012
© Dave Tacon/Copyright Agency, 2024
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Featuring striking photographic portraits of contemporary figures from the National Portrait Gallery collection, The Look is an aesthetic treat with a lashing of je ne sais quoi.
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