In Inner Reserve, artist Lucas Davidson uses photographic sampling to capture the Lake Macquarie region, including its water, land, and sky. His work highlights the distinctive light and colour unique to the area.

These images are transformed into a colour palette that reflects the essence of this natural place through light, colour, and repetition.

The works invite audiences to slow down, reflect, and experience a more intimate connection with both place and self.

Artist statement

"In the last two years I have been using photographic ‘sampling’ to evoke phenomena from the natural world. Some examples of this include images of water, land and sky. Through this process these images are transformed into a colour palette that captures the essence of a natural place through light, colour and repetition.

My goal for this new direction is to create photographs that resonate emotionally and inspire a sense of connection to one’s environment and self. I am interested in “slowing down” our relationship to photography and shifting the attention towards a more intimate interaction that reflects the connection to place and environment.

For the exhibition Inner Reserve, I used this sampling process to capture the Lake Macquarie region. I spent time on the lake and its surrounds, capturing a sense of light and colour that is unique to the area, placing special emphasis on the ephemeral and sublime qualities of Lake Macquarie’s natural environment.

I hope the works in Inner Reserve move beyond the traditional subject-object dynamic of the camera and that audiences gain a new experience with photography that invites reflection and a deeper awareness of oneself. "

- Lucas Davidson