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Australian Patrick Wanis is a self-taught artist/photographer who began his passion in art as a teenager by painting in oils after being inspired by the surrealists and impressionists. Wanis unconsciously ‘paints with a camera’ - blurring the lines between painting and photography. He creates colorful worlds where the viewer is transported into an experience that cannot be defined by the technical lens as much as the ‘painters’ eyes.
Inspired by all that is beautiful and unique, Wanis captures more than a moment: he envelopes an experience within a world and compels the viewer to see and feel a deep emotion which triggers the desire to enter the canvas of the photo. For the past 20 years, Wanis has lived by the ocean, in Mexico, Spain, Africa, The Caribbean and the US. His obsession with water is revealed in his photography – every work contains water or is set by water and focuses on the power of light, shadows and reflections.
His photos of women are provocative, often referencing the link between the female, water and nature. Although the themes may vary in his abundant photographic work & series, dramatic lighting, eros and surreal worlds call out to the viewer to participate and immerse him or herself in the otherworld.
Artist Statement
"What if the world you see doesn’t really exist, but rather another world of extraordinary beauty and sensuality surrounds you constantly and incessantly? That is what I want my audience to see, feel and be consumed by...When I first started painting, I chose the themes of pain, suffering, anger, death and confusion. I believed that only pain was art. I scoffed at paintings and photography of joy and beauty...
While working in Africa as a dancer, choreographer and entertainer, I awoke to the realization that pain, suffering & misery are not the only ways to form bonds with others: I could connect with people via laughter, joy and beauty. The more I traveled, the more beauty I saw enveloping me; I had to have it. Painting couldn’t satisfy my desire for instant gratification – with photography I could surround myself with what I experienced. Obsessed with beauty, I wanted to take it with me everywhere and I never wanted it to end...
My apartment was now overflowing with my large photos filling every possible space - photos of beauty, sensuality & magical worlds - photos that are akin to surreal paintings. Friends and visitors were calling out to me to share my work with the world.
I recognize now that the love of and desire for beauty (the original meaning of eros) is the way that souls can connect instantly and at the deepest level...The beauty is incessant – can you hear it? Can you feel it?
I invite you to feel the eros and the passion - to long to be inside the photo, inside a new world where time stands still.
Never do I set out or plan to make photos or art – it is all around me and I avoid being hampered by the hardware. No lens can recreate what I see and it must not be tainted by the obsession with modern and complicated technology. I want to create the photo immediately and print it just as fast. My only influence is the beauty that I see and feel everywhere. Like the surrealists and impressionists, my work might have meaning or it might have none at all - a simple juxtaposition of contrasting images & textures, creating the dream."
Patrick Wanis
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