About
Ian Kemp
I graduated from Photography Studies College, Melbourne, in 2017 with a major in Fine Art.
I have had solo exhibitions in the Art Gallery of Ballarat, Horsham Art Gallery, Central Goldfields Gallery, Willaura Modern, the Raillery Gallery St Arnaud and Yering Station Gallery in the Yarra Valley.
My Fine Art work explores the temporal nature of human life (it is a recurring theme in much of my work) and I also enjoy travel photography, music performance, portraiture, still life and landscape photography.
Apart from exhibition work I would be pleased to work with you to make a high-quality commission, to take a portrait of you and your family or to sell you one of my prints.
Projects
my work
” If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn’t need to lug around a camera.”
I like to make bodies of work around a central theme or idea. The inspiration for this usually comes from personal experiences, or places that I have travelled to or an urge to express an idea visually.
I exhibited 1 in 4 during the 2025 Ballarat International Foto Biennale.
The images in this exhibition were part of a project against domestic violence. I want to be part of the movement to reduce its prevalence in our community.
1 in 4 is a reference to the number of women in Australia between the ages of 16 and 65 who will be subjected to domestic violence. The images in this exhibition are the beginnings of a much larger project that I have in mind.
The images here reflect the impact on all ages of women, starting with children. I want them to be used in the community for change.
I chose to represent the issue by using a series of 5 images, four of them of women at different stages of life and one of a male emphasising the violence. I thought that this would be an accurate visual narrative of the issue.
Recognition
exhibitions and awards
2026
- Finalist in the Motif Collective Landscape Photography Competition
- Finalist Infuse Prize
- Group Exhibition, After the Gold Rush, XYZ Photo Gallery, Docklands, Melbourne.
- Group Exhibition, Baldessin 25th Anniversary Book and prints, Sydney Contemporary,
- National Print Gallery and State Library Victoria.
2025
- Published in Frames Digital Magazine (December edition) Switzerland
- Finalist, Martin Kantor Prize, Ballarat International Foto Biennale
- Solo Exhibition, 1 in 4, Ballarat International Foto Biennale Open Program
- Solo Exhibition, Print Works, Ross Creek Gallery
- Finalist, Flanagan Art Prize
- Won Best Ballarat Photographer, Ballarat International Foto Biennale
2024
- Solo Exhibition, Solitary, St Arnaud Raillery Hub Gallery
- Solo Exhibition, Neverlasting, at Horsham Art Gallery
- Group Exhibition, Altology, Gallery 10, Ballarat
- Solo Exhibition, In Solitude, Yering Station Gallery
- Solo Exhibition, In Solitude, Central Goldfields Gallery
- Group Exhibition, SHAC’n not stirred.
- Judge, Geelong Camera Club
2023
Solo Exhibition, Neverlasting, at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, August17-October 21, as part of the Core Program of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale
Solo Exhibition, Mr Jones Dining Ballarat
Group Exhibition with SHAC, Ballarat
Solo Exhibition, Canberra Hotel, Ballarat
Published, Inside Imaging, (August edition)
For commissions
Commission a new work
I would be delighted to work with you on a private or editorial commission, including portraiture, landscape and studio work. Every commission begins with a conversation about the subject, what you want to achieve with the work and how the work will be produced. My aim is to make the process stress-free. I will share images with you and then complete the final edits.
For collectors
Own a print
If you would like to purchase one of my prints then please contact me on the tab below so that we can begin the process. I print my images using the highest quality inks and archival photo rag papers. They are gallery quality and long-lasting and I check each one prior to leaving my studio.
Editions
Signed and accompanied with a Certificate of Provenance
Paper
Archival cotton rag, museum grade
Sizes
Are made to order
Framing
Available on request, shipped ready to hang. They are custom made and use non-reflecting Perspex.
Freight
Unframed images will be sent rolled and in a tube