Ben Apfelbaum

LOUIS VUITTON EXHIBITION : WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO

 

 

If you  happy to be at Circular Quay you can’t help but notice that a huge pavilion with the enigmatic words CLV on its walls. As you mount the stairs to the entrance  to the pavilion you will discern that the LV  stands for Louis Vuitton. The pavilion was conceived by Refik Anadol and there are also relics incorporating artificial intelligence.

As you enter you are greeted by a sculpture of a kangaroo made from Louis Vuitton handbags,

You then enter the main pavilion which, for some  strange reasons, presents the history of Louis Vutton in reverse order. For example you will at first encounter the latest skateboard design, until near the exit you will view the historic trunk.

On the walls are some of Louis Vutton’s most iconic bags as well as their celebrity wearers such as Jennifer Connelly, Miranda Kerr and Hugh Jackman.

In the centre of the hall, classic creative and bold dresses.

As well as fashion, visitors can view the evolution of then deckchair,

As you leave, you will encounter an interactive space dedicated to the Louis Vuitton monogram design,

The exhibition at First Fleet Park runs until 11 December 2022.

Text and photos by Ben Apfelaum.

 

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborlang. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, United States, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication. To celebrate the opening of a permanent Photography Gallery, the State Library of New South Wales selected 400 shots from its archive of over 2,000,000 images to display in the new gallery. An image of mine was plucked out of the multi million photo archive to be part of the inaugural exhibition.