Album 1

Portraits of the Artist by Amanda Brown 1991-2011

Lost in the 1930s - 2011

Assassination of Judy Garland Part 1

Fine art photographer Amanda Brown and I have been friends for over 20 years now, having taken her first portraits of me in in the winter of 1991. On this winter day, 20 years later, Amanda invited me for morning tea at her studio in a renovated 1930s art deco apartment.  These photographs began on the 2nd July 2011 and finished anywhere between 1935-1944.  Some people thought they looked straight out of the American Civil War (which side?).... They remind me personally of a Shanghai of the 1930s and go well with music from this era.  More photos are being developed as Amanda used both digital and film with an original 1930s camera.  Read my diary post about this shoot, Inhabiting The Idea Of Time: 1930s.  If you have to do the obligatory biog photo, enjoy it. These photos are retouched for the web page.

Back Alleys - 2006

Sedition and Other Bedtime Stories

In 2006 I returned to public exhibiting after a long break where I more or less just lived life and did my own work in the studio. I held 3 studio exhibitions and went into a redevelopment phase, doing a lot of experimenting. Sedition and Other Bedtime Stories was significant for that return, but also in terms of focusing on the work in a way I just had never done before. Amanda and I had fun on this shoot and I was in a good mood. 

The Dockyards - 1991

Carl Gopal Solo

These images are from my first exhibition in 1991 at Bridge Gallery in Northbridge, Western Australia. They were photographed at various locations along the Swan River and the Fremantle Wharf during winter by Amanda Brown. That makes it about twenty years ago this month.  I had returned from working in Melbourne in the rag trade and was starting on the journey of painting. We didn't know each other very well back then, probably too well now (ha). I can see that I was a little reserved in these shots. Amanda and I have collaborated on these photographs across 2 decades, it's like a conversation across time that I keep learning from. Good friends do that.