Jack Mannix: Precious Metals

Overview

Next Wave Festival hasn't even started yet and we're already reaping the spoils. As part of their Emerging Curator's Program, Next Wave and the Centre for Contemporary Photography have teamed up to bring this young Sydney photographer's work to the fore, and we couldn't be happier about it.

Raw, lo-fi and Tumblr-friendly, Mannix's photography is beautiful and relatable. Exploring his own life and those around him — a young couple, a sex worker, and numerous club kids — Mannix takes photographs that look like realistic American Apparel ads. While the subjects are all young and beautiful, there's something gritty and personal about the images that render them much more interesting. It's easy to imagine each in the collection of a past lover or close friend and as you stare at each, a shared intimacy is created. As the exhibition title would suggest, there's something precious to be savoured in the small art of the snapshot.