My name is James Farley. I am an artist, curator, and gardener based in Wagga Wagga, NSW. I’m am a lecturer in photography at Charles Sturt University, where I am also the Director of the H.R Gallop Gallery.

My practice is ecological in flavour; promoting the integration of ecological thinking into my work, art, life, and community.

I work with photography in it’s expanded form, incorporating experimental and generative processes, collaboration, installation, and photobooks. My work is an ongoing critique of the enduring aesthetic traditions of Colonialism, Patriarchy and Capitalism. Recognising that I am both a beneficiary and one deeply implicated in the endurance of these systems, I use my practice to stay with and explore this trouble. I seek to muddy the waters of Western dualistic thinking to explore the more complex and interrelated realities of the Anthropocene.

More broadly, I am a passionate advocate for the development, promotion, and support of professional art practice in regional areas.

Curatorial Projects

2020 – 8 Doors, Artstate 2020, Wagga Wagga

2020 – On the Space of Artists, co-curated with Hayley Megan French

2018 – ƒ.11: Photography Graduates from Charles Sturt University 2008-2018, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW (Curator)

2016 – Land Dialogues, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW

Solo Exhibitions

2018 – Rambunctious Garden, Firstdraft, Sydney, NSW

2018 – Working Within, Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo, NSW

2017 – Reciprocity, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW

2017 – Slow Documents, Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery, NSW

2016 – Traces of Shadow and Light, E3 art space, Wagga Wagga Art gallery, NSW

2014 – A New Dialectic, ACME Art Studios, Wilmington NC, USA

2013 – Trepidation: VOID, E3 art space, Wagga Wagga Art gallery, NSW

Exhibitions / Projects / Prizes

2019 – Hill End Residency, Hill End, NSW (with Jacob Raupach)

2019 – Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, VIC

2019 – On the Origins of Capital, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery (with Jacob Raupach & Felix Wilson)

2019 – Australia & New Zealand Photobook Award, Various Int. Venues

2018 – National Photography Prize, MAMA, Albury, NSW

2018 – Push the Medium, Narrandera Arts Centre, Narrandera, NSW

2017 – Contemporary Landscape in Photography Prize, Perth Centre for Photography, WA

2016 – Here in the Undergrowth, BLINDSIDE, Melbourne, VIC (with Jacob Raupach)

2016 – Land Dialogues, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW (Artist and Curator)

2016 – Enlighten, Wagga Wagga City Council Public Arts Program (Produced with Andrew Hagan)

2015 – SUN PRINTS, Studio3 Gallery, Broken Hill Art Exchange, Broken Hill, NSW

2015 – Everyday Politics, Upper Waiting Hall, House of Commons, London, UK

2015 – Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Somerset House, London, UK

2014 – CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, VIC

2014 – Unnatural Futures, Plimsoll Gallery, University of Tasmania, Hobart

2014 – Dualisms, H.R. Gallop Gallery, Wagga Wagga, NSW (with Jacob Raupach)

2013 – Virtual Reality Project, Underbelly Arts Festival, Sydney, NSW

2012 – Six Degrees, The Fitzmaurice Street Gallery, Wagga Wagga, NSW

Prizes | Awards | Grants 

2019 – Finalist, Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, VIC.

2019 – Finalist, Australia & New Zealand Photobook Award 2018 (Image Ecologies)

2018 – Recipient. Artists Support Grant, Create NSW

2017 – Joint Recipient. Wagga Wagga City Council Arts and Cultural Grant (with Jacob Raupach)

2016 – Recipient. Australian Artists Grant, NAVA

2016 – Winner. NSW/ACT Young Achiever of the Year Awards – Arts & Fashion Award

2015 – Recipient. Young Regional Arts Scholarship from Create NSW

2016 – Finalist. Australian Photobook of the Year Awards (Limits to Growth)

2015 –Recipient. Wagga Wagga City Council Arts and Cultural Grant

2015 – Finalist. Sony World Photography Organisation Student Focus Prize, London, UK

2014 – Artist in Residence. Broken Hill Arts Exchange, Broken Hill, NSW

2014 – Winner. Environmental Image Salon Prize, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, VIC

2014 –Recipient. Australian Postgraduate Award for Doctoral Studies, CSU

Education

2017 – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW | (Thesis) |

2013 – Bachelor of Visual and Performing Arts (Honours 1st Class), Charles Sturt University, Wagga, NSW

2012 – Bachelor of Arts (Photography)( with distinction), Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Aus

2011 – Studio Art/Art History Study (12 Month International Exchange Program), UNCW, Wilmington, NC, USA

Employment

2017 – Lecturer in Photography, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, AUS

2016 – Studio Supervisor, THE ART FACTORY, Wagga Wagga, NSW, AUS

2013 – Gallery Technician, Wagga Wagga Art Gallery, NSW, AUS

2013 – Tutor in Photography and Art History, Charles Sturt University, NSW, AUS

2011 – Assistant at the Art Gallery at University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA