Peter Fitzpatrick

Born 1966, Liverpool NSW
Bachelor of Visual Arts
Graduation show: 1987
Graduation ceremony: 1988


Artwork in Space YZ

Concrete Jungle, 1986
Pigment prints, 13 parts
43.2 x 55.9 cm each

These images were captured at the Bradshaw Building on Parramatta Road near Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west. They were for a photography project set by Graham Marchant during second-year of my studies at Nepean College of Advance Education. The images were taken with a Rolleichord 6x6 camera on ‘extended loan’ from my brother Phil and some out of date Ilford HP5 film bought from L&P Photographics in North Sydney. If fate had been different these images could have been the very last photographs I had taken, as I nearly fell to my death through a hole in the floor in this building. I can still feel the sensation of the near miss, imagine that story. I also remember being chased by a security guard on one of the many visits I made to this building. I used to get to this building from the Kingswood campus on my trusty Vespa scooter, another influence from Marchant. Of course, I was producing at the same time some experimental pieces for the other photo faculty member, Peter Charuk. That work most likely involved printing on the Cibachrome machine in the overcrowded
social library darkroom or editing some Super 8. It was great to have the opportunity to be mentored by these two artists. 

I am currently the Special Advisor for Community Engagement and a Professor in Photography at Columbia College Chicago. I work with still and moving image, reaching across analogue and digital technologies. I have been involved in developing the teaching and research programs at the Australian National University, the Australian Centre for Photography and Columbia College Chicago. I have been fortunate to take part in artist residence programs, festivals, education forums and exhibitions in Australia, China, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Singapore, New Zealand and the USA. I hold a Master of Fine Arts Research at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales in Sydney. I have received project funding from The Australia Council, Columbia College Chicago and Arts ACT. I volunteer as the Education Director of Eyes on Main Street Inc. 501 (c) 3 in Wilson, North Carolina and have been involved with photography practice since 1989. I facilitate youth photography programs for the Diane Dammeyer Initiative in the USA.

To learn more about Peter Fitzpatrick, visit his Instagram.

I was fortunate enough to be in the second intake of the new Bachelor of Visual Arts degree when the program was fresh, and the faculty were daring. The whole experience was highly experimental and attracted aspiring creatives from all walks of life. These elements along with the isolation from the Kingswood main campus were the key to the program’s early success. Space YZ and the Z block studios at Kingswood did not exist during this time. Instead, the studios were housed in an industrial estate between Penrith and Emu Plains - the Peachtree Studios.

The cafeteria was the Peachtree Hotel, and one-on-one critiques took place over the pool table. Each student had their own studio space in the factory, the building was a sweat box in summer and freezing in winter. I majored in Photography, yet all faculty were accessible for feedback. The whole experience and all the faculty, staff and students involved influenced my approach to making and more. It is a real shame that such a program was discontinued as it provided the only possible launching pad for many creative in the western suburbs of Sydney.

Below is an edited list of the many memories I hold from the Nepean days as a student.

Warning: Some of the following could be fact, yet all are meant in the spirit of sincere gratitude!

I never graduated from the University of Western Sydney.

Peter was the oracle of photography and robots.

The commute to Nepean College of Advance Education took 2hrs one-way if you didn’t miss your train.

Allan and Donald delivered the most entertaining lectures.  

I turned up to my admissions interview in a school blazer.

Harry and Terry almost taught me how to draw
The freshly cut grass was always delivered in a brown school case just in time for drawing class.

I think it was the fumes from the bitumen solution as to why I could not concentrate in drawing class.

Rhett taught me how to just get on with it.

The painter’s corner at the Peachtree factory was very welcoming to newbies.  

David Hull was a huge fan of my painting efforts.

Photography majors occupied portable classrooms on the hill of the Kingswood campus once we were banished from the Peachtree factory.

Donald taught me how to paint.

End of semester critique at the Peachtree factory was a walk in the park and no one ever cried.

Jacquie taught me about the benefits of green tea and Japanese culture.

Juliana colored our monochrome world.

Graham almost sold me a Morris Minor.

Breasts got stuck in plaster of Paris and we all laughed.

Noelene used the effective open sandwich method of critique.

I was great at sculpture.

Cam let me camp out for 24 hours in the grounds of Lewers Gallery.

The darkroom in the Kingwood library was a hub of great education and laughs.

Chai “?” this is the answer.

David really was a huge fan of my painting efforts really.

Helen saved me on many occasions in Arts in Context.

Denis taught us the practicalities of installation while wearing quality leather.

Antonio knew all the words to Mirror in the Bathroom.

I moved three tons of sand to graduate.

Jim the security guard squashed my pinhole camera thinking it was a bomb.