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123 Days Away
Souvenirs impulsively purchased and snapshots ritually performed by travellers and tourists alike are attempts to capture a prized moment and to progress an idealised narrative. Photographing and consuming justify and structure a tourist’s itinerary. The retained objects and images are, however, arguably limited to a few recognizable signifiers, exotic locations, ritual experiences and iconic monuments. Evidence that we saw the “must see” and did the “must do”. The traveler inevitably returns home to present their collection. The mementos are proof of the journey and condense the multifaceted experience into a romantic script. Forget the airport delays and arguments over money. Remember the sun setting behind an exotic temple.
On completing their undergraduate studies, as thousands of young Australians do, Aaron and Adriane folded their domestic obligations into a backpack and fled overseas with no date of return. 123 Days Away captures and reconstructs the couple’s rite of passage traveling through Southeast Asia. The resulting body of work is both a celebration and critique of modern travel. Their experiences are ironically distant from the rhetoric of Lonely Planet or the glamour of Travel Photography. Having graduated together from Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art, both Aaron and Adriane draw on their respective disciplines to construct a unique visual narrative of their one hundred and twenty-three days away.
To view Aaron's gallery CLICK HERE
To view Adriane's gallery go to http://www.adrianehayward.com/123daysaway.html
123 Day Journal of Southeast Asia (2008)
14 February - 6 March 2008 (Phuket)
7 March - 16 March 2008 (Phuket/Phi Phi Island)
17 March - 28 March 2008 (Phuket)
29 March - 7 April 2008 (Phuket/Bangkok/Chiang Mai/Pai)
8 April - 18 April 2008 (Chiang Mai/Bangkok)
19 April - 28 April 2008 (Siem Reap/Phnom Penh)
29 April - 5 May 2008 (Phnom Penh/Saigon)
6 May - 15 May 2008 (Hanoi/Ninh Binh/Sapa)
16 May - 27 May 2008 (Sapa/Hanoi/Ha Long Bay/Hué/Hoi An/Doc Let/Mui Ne)
28 May - 7 June 2008 (Saigon/Phnom Penh/Siem Reap)