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47 Alternative L.J. 2 (2022)

handle is hein.journals/alterlj47 and id is 1 raw text is: Cover art Seeing life unseen The origins of infrared photography may be traced back to their rather dark past of camouflage detection, but pho- tographic artist Kate Ballis, who created our cover art Poodle, revels in the vibrant hues revealed by the technique and which make it possible to see the unseen. 'To some, my palette is representative of 1980s Americana - of pink Barbie dolls driving blue Mustangs, MTV, Miami's neon signs...' Ballis explains she was a child of that era and 'cer- tainly can't escape my penchant for these hyper- realistic worlds that I looked at with awe in my youth in far-off Australia. [But] then there's something spiritual about the work, too, in that it makes the unseen visible.' Palm Springs in the Californian desert is the mid-century 'modernist mecca' that the artist has chosen as her second home, and which inspired a series of her works. The hyper- colour surrealist artworks - dubbed 'Infra-realism' - showcase her manipulated environments with their dis- orienting use of light and shadow. 'I am interested in energy and the way it can make us feel, affect our mood, and through this mode of photography, I can help to make that more visible. That', says Ballis, 'is a most exciting combination of science and magic.' Alternative Law Journal 2022, Vol. 47(1) 2 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1 177/1037969X221086776 journals.sagepub.com/home/al OSAGE The artist's colour-drenched images of utopian landscapes use infrared technology to isolate colours within the spectrum and bring a unique understanding of a particular place. Her work explores places and spirits of the 'otherworld', making them seem even more foreign than the earth we know. 'It's fascinating to me that, in person, these landscapes can sometimes appear muted and dead, but in this light, we see shrubs and cacti that are glowing brighter than anything else in the scene; what appears to the eye as dusty brown is in fact a glowing world of its own. It's a search for life and colour in places you do not expect it to exist.' Ballis' work has been exhibited in solo and group ex- hibitions in Melbourne, Sydney, Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Miami, as well as art fairs across Europe. She is represented in Australia's Artbank collection, and her works are also held in numerous private collections. Deb Candy Poodle 2020 by Kate Ballis Pigment print 103 cm x 153 cm Courtesy of the artist Cover image © Kate Ballis Represented by Gallerysmith, Melbourne