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LUKE VAN AURICH'S PHOTOGRAPHIC PRACTICE IS SPURRED ON BY INTERESTS THAT LIE IN THE UNCONVENTIONAL
Photographer
Luke Van Aurich’s photographic practice is spurred on by interests that lie in the unconventional. His work is devoid of context or explanation that traditionally dictates viewer subjectivity. The viewers are left to form their own opinions and to extrapolate their own meaning, therefore fueling the creativity within the sphere of the melting pot that is Australia.
STK: Growing up, were you creative as a kid?
Luke: I was a terror. Creatively horrible towards everything.
STK: Did you feel like you fitted into the society around you?
Luke: I guess I was a little different then the majority. I fitted in well enough with the people I hung out with, which worked. Then as I got older I adjusted. Everything changes and you just go along with it.
STK: For how long have you been shooting?
Luke: Since high school. But the time I’ve spent actually caring about it, 5 years.
STK: You have been involved in quite a few shows in the last couple of years. Do you want to talk a bit about them?
Luke: So the last big scale show I did was Good Night in the city at Fed Square, based on a zine I made previously for the IPF [Independent Photography Festival] Zine Fair. Impresario was a black and white riso zine which I received great feedback from and so I was like, “Hell yeah, I’m going to make this a show.” So it was the same concept, twisted a little bit. I added new images into the exhibition so that people who’d seen the zine would’ve caught something fresh. I wanted to do risograph prints again as it’s traditionally suited to high volume printing and I just wanted to do editions of 1, finishing them in ‘high- end’ frames as well. It may take 10 prints to get 1 because you’ll print until it’s perfect. From there I pick the best one and frame it as the final copy rather than selling a big run of everything. It felt right, so I did that.
STK: What are the ideas that the project is based around?
Luke: So really, when I made the project I didn’t want to say anything about it. I just wanted to angle it in a direction and get people to make their own assumptions about the work. I didn’t want to be like, “Hey this is what I’m doing,” by writing a thesis filled with convoluted art speak. I just wanted to be like, “Yo, how do you feel, what do you think about it?” It’s styled to my perspective which definitely directs people in a way, but not explicitly telling them how to feel or what to think and I believe that’s important. It was all shot in black and white film. Then scanned and printed in black and white on riso again.
STK: Are there any other past projects you’d like to mention?
Luke: I did a couple in 2015. One was a solo riso project based on car racing in Nagambie, Victoria. So like, a really rural vibe; lots of colours, highlighting a microcosm of Australian racing culture. It was cool to see and it came out really well with the riso. The other project I did was with Jay Dymock from Perth. We had similar ideas and a similar style and it was great to put it all together. We wanted to do a book, so we did it. We made a big lightbox and some prints we showed at Hand 2 Hand in Melbourne.
STK: When did you first start getting into risograph printing?
Luke: I think I saw people’s work which I thought was sick. I knew I wanted to learn how to do it, so I did my own research and figured out who I should go to and then spoke to friends about it. It was that Melbourne thing; seeing other people doing cool stuff and thinking, “How can I do this in my own way?”
STK: Going back to when you first started shooting, was there a group of friends or anyone you hung out with that helped drive you to keep shooting?
Luke: Yeah, I guess so, definitely all my close friends who had art practices. There were a few that shot and I thought it was sick. So I thought, “I’ll do that too.” Something to do, something to pass the time. And yeah, I started enjoying it. So I just kept doing it, which led me to learn about the history and how to do stuff properly.
STK: Were there any big inspirations growing up that fuelled your passion for street documentation?
Luke: Yeah, I don’t know. I kinda just liked the idea that anyone can take a photo of anything as it doesn’t mean anything. The whole idea that you could use any camera, like an iPhone or a shitty point and shoot camera and take photos was always sick to me. Like I was saying, I got into it more and started looking at higher-end stuff; going for better image quality and finding different avenues to create changes and twists. As far as inspiration, I guess I grew up skating and that’s a similar mindset: just doing your own thing, running your own path.
STK: When you’re shooting your street style do you go to certain areas in Melbourne? Or is it more wandering around, chasing a feeling?
Luke: It just depends on my mood and whether or not I feel like going for a long walk. I’ll just walk around and I’ll come across things. Some of the stuff looks like it’s far away but is probably within 15 metres of my house. I’ve shot heaps of stuff, even in my own house. But a lot of images usually come from when I’m out camping or going somewhere. It’ll come along that way. And then sometimes I’ll finish work and feel like I can be creative and have the energy for it. So yeah, I try not to plan it too much. It’s just there and I see it, you know?
STK: I know it’s like more situational. But when you’re shooting your subjects, if they’re a stranger, do you often have a conversation with them? Or are you someone who tries to capture the candid moment without discussion?
Luke: There are probably only a handful I’ve published that weren’t people I know. Everyone else is a friend. I’m not against that style but I guess I’m conscious of myself, who I am and who they are as well. For me, it doesn’t feel right to be taking that from someone but with friends, you have that opportunity to get close, to get those candid images. Plus I don’t feel like I’m exploiting people.
STK: Everyone has a different flow, right?
Luke: I can do it but I just maybe can’t get over the social issues surrounding strangers, so generally speaking it’s just not for me.
STK: Would you say you’re a person who prefers shooting alone or do you like having a group of people around you while you’re working?
Luke: A lot of the stuff I do is by myself or with one other person. It’s all happenstance. I’ve never felt that I need a whole bunch of people or anyone at all really. Whatever goes.
STK: Do you ever like being in front of the camera?
Luke: [Laughs]. Not really, it just depends. I’m more on the other side of the camera.
STK: You seem to be someone who likes to travel quite a lot. Can you tell us about your travels?
Luke: Yeah, I don’t know man. There’s a flight sale, you hop overseas and you see something and you do something. Again, just being conscious of yourself and how you interact with that environment and the people around are all part of it. I don’t really think I’ve done anything that amazing, but yeah, I’ve just done my own thing. I’m also trying to travel more around Australia and trying to broaden my horizons that way, which isn’t always the cheapest way to do things but it’s manageable.
STK: Has there always been a big push for you to have your work in physical form?
Luke: Yeah, totally. I see the internet as a great way for you to be seen by heaps of people, but I feel like there’s no substance to it, you know? It’s not tangible. You can’t pick up an art book and be like, “Yo, this is sick and I have this now, this is awesome, this person created it and I paid money for it”—knowing that money will go to the artist and they can continue working and growing and creating stuff you can put in your hand. It’s the same with prints. It feeds that circle of people creating stuff and for people to further their own practices. No doubt it’s cool to see people’s work online but it just doesn’t have that same level of craftsmanship—which maybe isn’t the greatest phrase to use—but you know, you have to do a bunch of stuff to get it printed. There’s so much that is involved in a physical form, like a wall print or a book and all the accompanying variables you have to think about.
STK: For that reason do you feel you might hold back in releasing a lot of work on the internet, so as to keep it exclusive?
Luke: Well, I maybe wouldn’t use the term ‘exclusive’ but yeah, I’ll print something that has been online and I’ll put it in a show. Ideally, I’ll see something that I think would be a good book, zine or print and would look good with this or that. But that’s something I struggle with the most: the whole managing of the online presence thing. I’m pretty terrible at it.
STK: You don’t look like a hoarder but you look like someone who likes to collect things. Did you pick up things as a kid?
Luke: I hoard stuff. I didn’t use to have anything but now I collect everything, like little scraps of paper that I’ve kept for 8 years. I’ll pick up something that means nothing but the words are cool, like pamphlets which most people chuck away. I have a box full of just paper stuff.
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