Rosemary Laing facts for kids

Rosemary Laing (born 1959 – died 2024) was a famous Australian photographer. She first trained as a painter. Later, she became well-known for her amazing photography. Rosemary also taught art at the University of New South Wales, College of Fine Arts.

She had over 100 exhibitions of her work. Laing was a leader in conceptual photography. This means her photos often explored big ideas. Many of her works were part of a series to show these ideas.

Rosemary Laing's Life Story

Rosemary Laing started her art journey by studying painting. From 1976 to 1979, she earned a Diploma of Art Education in Brisbane. She then got another art diploma in 1982 from the University of Tasmania.

Later, she continued her studies in Sydney. She earned a Post Graduate Diploma from the Sydney College of the Arts in 1991. From 1992 to 1996, she completed a Master of Fine Arts with top honors. This was at the College of Fine Arts, New South Wales.

Laing first used photography just for ideas. In 1988, she worked as an exhibition consultant. This was for the Australian Bicentennial Exhibition. This job was a big step for her career. She helped choose photos from top artists. This showed her how photographers captured Australia. In 2000, her series Flight research became very popular.

Sadly, Rosemary Laing passed away on May 23, 2024. She was 65 years old.

Exploring Rosemary Laing's Art

Rosemary Laing created many powerful photo series. Two of her most famous are Bulletproof glass and Groundspeed.

What is Bulletproof glass?

The Bulletproof glass series was shot in the Blue Mountains. These photos show women in old wedding dresses. They appear to float in the sky. They also have what looks like gunshot wounds. Laing used these images to talk about important issues. One idea was the failed vote for Australia to become a republic. Another was the government's refusal to apologize to Aboriginal peoples.

How was Groundspeed created?

The Groundspeed series combines art and photography. Laing went to eucalyptus forests in South Australia. She laid down carpet on the forest floor. With help, she took many landscape photos of these scenes.

Rosemary Laing once said about flight: "Flight sits in our consciousness as a kind of fantasy or dream. It is a metaphorical notion. Children dream of flying. It is a very escapist notion to be able to fly. Superheroes fly. Then you’ve got Yves Klein’s Leap into the void. I was interested in unfettering the body from the mechanics of flight."

Laing also explored how natural disasters affect Australia. She showed their impact on the land and people. This led to her series called one dozen unnatural disasters in the Australian landscape.

Many of Laing's artworks were about Australian places. She set up scenes to show the history and politics of these spots. She also included modern culture. In 1994, Laing moved to a studio under a flight path. The noise of planes made her think about air travel. This inspired her Flight Research series.

After 1996, Laing usually did not change her photos digitally. This made the subjects in her pictures look very real, even if they seemed dreamlike.

Awards and Achievements

Rosemary Laing won many awards and grants during her career. These helped her create more amazing art. Some of her awards included:

• 1999 National Photographic Purchase Award from the Albury Wodonga Regional Art Foundation.
• 1996 Faculty Research Grant from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales.
• 1990 Rothmans Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship from the Sydney College of the Arts.
• 1989 Artists Development Grant from the Visual Arts/Craft Board of the Australia Council.

Where Rosemary Laing's Art Was Shown

Laing's art was shown in over 100 exhibitions. These shows happened from the 1980s onwards. Her work was seen all over the world. This included places like Germany, the United States, Japan, and New Zealand. Her photographs are now kept in many important museums. These include the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Spain. They are also at the North Carolina Museum of Art in the USA.