5 November - 29 November

Opening Event: Wed 12 November, 6pm-8pm

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Reflecting on isolation, burnout and the quiet intimacy of transient spaces, Vacancy, a photo-documentary project by photographer and filmmaker Matthew Bedford explores vacated motels and hotels that bear traces of a solitary traveller far from home. This exhibition is part of Head On's Open Program. 

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Vacancy' is a documentary project capturing motel/hotel that have been vacated but show evidence of, for the most part, the solo traveller (me) who's far from home but has left evidence of their partaking of the perfunctory space.  Instead of seeking to capture the glamour of travel, 'Vacancy' connotes a sense of isolation, loneliness and making something alien the closest thing to a concept of home when the traveller is so far from it.  This work was collated over many trips I have taken for work since 2022 and started when I had caught Covid and had to spend 7 Days in a small Motel room in Queenstown, Tasmania. The combination of having to isolate within that room and also experiencing burnout led to me finding this angle and interest in something so commonplace yet strangely personal and intimate.  The beginnings of this project were featured in the Capture Magazine Emerging Photographer competition earning a 'Highly Commended' in Documentary.