David Hempenstall
 |
 |
 |
David Hempenstall (b.1979) began photographing in the sea as a teenager. Since then he has pursued commissioned work and personal projects, working in Australia, Cyprus, Iraq and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.
“Eschewing the politicisation and dramatism of war photography, these tightly framed photographs capture mere snippets of the pragmatic, everyday details: tyre prints in dust, a fuel drum, the rusted wall of a shipping container. But what makes them so effective is what they choose not to disclose. A crudely laid concrete path leads to nowhere; the entrance to a nylon tent remains securely zipped. These snapshots, crops and abstractions act as evidence of something much greater and more sinister.”
-Mr Dan Rule. Critic, The Age
"These small-scale Polaroid photographs are truly compelling. Hempenstall shocks us with his attention to detail -- the small things that describe a personal response to a very harsh military environment. And as American troops withdraw from Iraq, it is a perfect time for us to consider the Coalition's occupation of the country and its legacy."
-Mr Shaune Lakin. Director, Monash Gallery of Art