Carine Thevenau is a Perth-based artist, photographer, and educator. Her photographic practice delves into social and cultural identity through portraiture, focusing on place, community, and the individual. She believes the accessible and revelatory nature of photographic portraiture can enhance visibility, communicate ideas, and explore narratives within societies and cultures.
Thevenau, who holds a Master of Fine Art degree with a major in Photomedia from the University of New South Wales, Art and Design – embraces an experimental approach to her practice, blending analogue and digital technologies. Passionate about sustainability in the arts, she showcases her work on eco-friendly materials like recycled and plant-based papers, including bamboo and washi paper.
Thevenau exhibited her first co-published photobook at the Tokyo Art Book Fair, Sydney Design Week, Singapore International Photography Festival and PhotoFairs, Shanghai China. The book was shortlisted as a finalist for the Cornish Family Prize in Art & Design Publishing at the NGV, Melbourne and the Photobook Awards at the Singapore International Photography Festival.
Thevenau has had solo shows at Edmund Pearce Gallery (Melbourne), Perth Centre for Photography (Perth), Kinokuniya Wedge Gallery (Sydney), Koskela (Sydney) and exhibited with Javid Dooney Gallery (Berlin).
Thevenau's photography has been published internationally, including: Wallpaper Magazine (UK), iD Magazine (UK), Metal Magazine (Spain), Vogue Magazine (AU), Cheese Kombino (FR), Australian Photography Magazine, Milk Magazine (FR), Shift Magazine (JP), Champ Magazine (JP), Art Almanac (AU), Frankie Magazine (AU), Smith Journal (AU), Assemble Paper(AU), Landscape Stories (IT), C41 Magazine (Milan), Aesthetica (UK), Plant Hunter (AU), Bird in Flight (Russia), Jetstar Inflight Magazine (AU), InStyle (AU)
Seasonal abandonment of imaginary worlds. ‘Seasonal Abandonment of Imaginary Worlds’ is a photographic collection of aging Japanese playgrounds I shot in rural Japan. The playscapes are either abandoned or empty due to seasonal snowfall, but the absence of life creates a space, ripe for the imagination. Although the playgrounds may arouse a nostalgic sensation, a more critical analysis reveals a portrait of place, and offers us a glimpse of spacetime paused. This image is an excerpt from a photography series and Photobook, of the same name. The picture (and larger project) was exhibited at Sydney Design Festival, Kinokuniya Gallery, Tokyo Art Book Fair, and Photo Fairs, Shanghai. Image: Carine ThevenauPlant Museum. Plant Museum explores the colonial past of Australia’s botanical gardens. Botanical gardens are public green spaces that promote human connection to nature and allow visitors the escapist and immersive experience of coexisting alongside diverse plant life collected from all corners of the globe. Although wondrous, the garden’s colonial past is evident in the inclusion and maintenance of exotic plant life, such as these cacti (not native to Australia), that are exhibited to the public, not dissimilar to a museum’s cabinet of curiosities. This image was exhibited at the Perth Centre for Photography for their annual Collective show. Image: Carine ThevenauSocial space. When I took this photograph, during the Covid lockdowns, I was thinking a lot about shared spaces that we occupy. I have recently heard the term “third place”. In sociology, third place refers to the places we inhabit that are not home (first place) and not the work place (second place). These spaces include places such as gyms, cafes, bars, clubs, theatres, and cinemas. Third places are important for community interaction. These are places where we generally try to relax. They are accessible and inclusive spaces. Here I have captured a third place in the local swimming pool. This photograph was exhibited at the Rotterdam Photography Festival in Amsterdam. Image: Carine ThevenauOrchidelirium. “Orchidelirium” explores the amorous history of the orchid. The associations are evident within the family name “Orchis” which in ancient Greek, translates as “testicle”, whilst the flower has also been a symbol of the feminine. Physiologically the flowering plant contains both male and female reproductive organs. The astonishing beauty of the flower caused a flurry of excitement during the Enlightenment where collectors scoured the globe seeking out orchids in a frenzied rush, known as orchidelirium or orchid fever. This hand-painted photograph will be shown at PS Art Space for the Perth Centre for Photography’s annual Collective exhibition. Image: Carine Thevenau13 in the Anthropocene. This is a portrait of Leyla, who is an Australian teenager. The portrait is part of a larger body of work exploring what it is like to be thirteen at this moment in history when the world seems quite chaotic and unpredictable. I photographed each teen using 120 black and white film, and then hand-painted the portraits. I accompanied the portrait series with interviews. I asked the children how social media made them feel and if they were hopeful for the future. One of the portraits from this series was an Editors Pick for the Lens Culture International Portrait Awards 2024. Image: Carine Thevenau
