In Conversation with Louis Petrocelli
LOUIS is an advertising photographer based in Melbourne with over 40 years experience. He has been involved in numerous advertising campaigns, capturing a wide range of subjects from cars to massive room sets from fully rigged yachts in his studio to the most delicate of still-lives. He has been a judge for the MADC photography awards and a mentor for RMIT third year photographic students. Despite a career immersed in the commercial world, Louis’s primary goal has always been to maximise creativity within the constraints of each photographic brief. Mastering lighting technique was instrumental in achieving this regardless of the subject matter. This, coupled with his meticulous attention to detail, has ensured longevity in a demanding industry. Embracing change and constant reinvention are fundamental principles guiding Louis’s work. His debut solo exhibition, “CAPSULE: Life Frozen and Fragile,” signifies a significant realignment in his journey, reflecting his ability to embrace a new direction.
How did you get into photography was it by accident or design?
Architecture was my first love from an early age but I recall flying over the Tasmanian mountains in an old Fokker Friendship twin engine plane on a school excursion holding an simple instamatic camera and loving the experience of capturing the landscape . I think this was my first encounter with photography. It seemed so magical ,at the time, and combined my natural ability for both the practical and the artistic I was sold. It is that personal and intimate connection with the subject matter that photography allows you to have when you are seeing the world in a viewfinder that is so enticing and addictive. Every rectangular composition is such a personal experience
Talk to me about CAPSULE and what was it that inspired you to do this Photographic installation.
There comes a time in your life when you want to add a comma, stop, reflect and reinvent.
Wanting to create the exhibition “Capsule Life frozen and fragile “ was one of those moments.
Coming from a very hectic commercial photographic career I always tried to make time and create my own projects. Here i could experiment with new lighting technique explore textures and feed my appetite to create.I loved the translucent, the abstract and the detail.
Ice emerged as a medium to explore having inherit beauty and distinct character. I was fascinated by its dual nature—melding strength with fragility, translucency with texture, and longevity with spontaneous change . Particularly intriguing was its unique ability to encapsulate and preserve life forms within its crystalline structure.
I then began to place life forms within the ice to form a icy capsule, added a little creative lighting and and the imagery was fascinating..The thing I loved was the unpredictability of the ice formation . It was like having my own cryonic experiment interpreted through photography.
Having seen many exhibitions around the world I noticed that if you were able to tease all the senses within an exhibition a greater level of interaction could be achieved between art work and viewer To this end I had the studio temperature set to a low level ,commissioned a beautiful and ethereal sound track and all the art work was presented against studio walls draped in a black velvet curtain to add drama.Each piece was individually lit allowing them to glow against the dark backdrop. To add to the understanding of the complex shooting process I engineered a freezer to hold an actual frozen life form back lit in a black sarcophagus presented in the center of the gallery.A mesmerising video was also filmed showing aspects of the shooting process. It was projected onto the studio wall as an introduction to the exhibition.
What have you learnt along the way in creating this body of work.
I have come to appreciate and respect anyone who decides to undertake an exhibition simply for the intensity and dedication required to make it happen.I was in the fortunate position of having my own space for the exhibition and it gave me the luxury of time for its staging.I think that since the audience (yes the people that came to an exhibition has to be treated as such an audience ) is inundated with imagery and technical extravagances that any artist having an exhibition has to explore new and innovative ways of presenting their work. I am not saying it should be filled will gimmickry but ways to compliment and amplify the experience It is all part of the immersive process.
How important is feeding your soul in Art photography and how have you managed this alongside your commercial career.
So important to delve into what is regarded as ‘Art Photography” .Commercial photography allows me to live the life style i want to lead but also the freedom to delve into art photography. I have always believed that one helps the other to survive As I have already stated, experimenting, reinventing an exploring are all necessary to keep a photographer current ,especially when we are in a field that is in constant stage of flux.
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