As a photographer, Lisa Hogben has an eclectic background. Whilst studying a Bachelor in Visual Arts at City Art Institute (now known as COFA), she dreamt of becoming a painter.

But it was her first contact with photography in her final year of Art School that changed her course in life. Her affinity for the camera as a tool for expression was obvious from the first and her ability to draw from her vast knowledge of visual art paved the way for her first photographic exhibition “Angelus Exeunt et Al”. The images juxtaposed modern life onto the everyday depiction of the sixteenth century.

During the exploration of these themes Lisa began to develop her current approach to photography. Her interests are the underlying connections, strengths and vulnerabilities of her subjects. It is the ‘little truths’ that are extracted from daily life that captivate her. For her, contact with ordinary people and objects often yields photographs that emphasize the heroic nature of humanity. Those ‘little truths’ are freeze framed in Lisa’s photos, her connection to her subjects providing a conduit into the universality of the emotions, desires and dreams played out in everyday realities.

Lisa describes her relationship to photography by saying,

“I think that the camera is a very simple tool. People seem to have the impression that great photographs are just the result of pressing a button at the right time, perhaps even at a random time. But I think that the art is the empathy that you have with your subject and the personal vision that you take with you when you point a camera in a particular direction. The immediacy of the medium is what separates it from all others, it’s a very powerful connection that you can make when you communicate and react with your subject in the here and now. The fact that you can document that process while it is happening is the unique thing. I guess there are always going to be stylistic revolutions, I mean that when certain theories reign supreme you are always going to see adherents to those theories. But to me it’s all about being there, the photo is just the by-product of the encounter. If I was a writer and I had nothing to say would I bother writing? So if being a photographer doesn’t involve me in the process why would I bother taking photos?”

Lisa Hogben has made the search for ‘little truths’ her life’s work. The daily lives of her subjects are intertwined into our own, spilling out with the ‘little truths’ of our being. Her photographs are a testament to her ability to see with tolerance, honesty and love.

Biography:
2005 – 1990 Freelance photographer based in Sydney, London and New York. Clients include Coke, Sony, Prince Michael of Kent, Qantas, ADI, Amcor Paper, Keep Australia Beautiful Council, Time Australia, Who Weekly, Australian Style, Large, Cleo, Sunday Life.

2004 – 1990 Photographic Lecturer at North Sydney

2000 Olympic News Service

1998 Artist in Residence North Sydney Community Centre.

1993 Studio based in Max Logan Studios, Russell Square, London.

1992 Managing B/W darkroom and reproductions for duration of Sam Hood exhibition at NSW State Library.

1991 Associate Diploma of Photography at Sydney TAFE

1989 Internship at Pace MacGill Photographic Gallery, New York City, NY. USA.

1988 Bachelor of Visual Arts, College of Fine Arts, University of NSW.

AWARDS

1990 Winner Bulletin Mumm Cordon Rouge Photographic Awards. Selected by Edmund Capon, David Moore, Robert McFarlane and Lorrie Graham.

1992 Winner of Goodweekend photographic competition. 1st prize return tickets to Europe.

1996 Selected for Who Weekly Magazine's 25 Best Photographs (of the First Five Years of Publication) for the Fifth Birthday Edition.

2005 Honourable Mention ‘Caveat Emptor’ Sydney Esquisse

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2003 Solo Exhibition ‘Shadowlands 1’ Fresco Designs, Surry Hills.

1998 Solo Exhibition 'Photographs of North Sydney ' On Permanent Display.

1992 Solo Exhibition 'Angelus Exeunt et Al'. Bondi Pavilion.