Perseverance

With a remarkable art installation of stunning light pods, local photographer Sabine Albers presents an intimate study of renowned Margaret River winemakers, Brown Hill Estate.

Having returned to the winery every few weeks over a period of 12 months, Sabine’s images capture the passion, dedication and connection to nature of a family-owned and operated winery that produces wine of the highest quality.

The pick of these behind-the-scenes images is presented in custom-built light pods and large black and white prints.

Perseverance showcases rarely seen images of the hard work and raw beauty of a winemaking family.

The photo exhibition runs from 12 to 21 August 2022 at the Doghouse Gallery, Fremantle.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

This passion project was to follow winemakers Brown Hill Estate for a year.

As one of the few winemakers in Margaret River that hand picks and hand sorts all their estate-grown fruit, this family-owned and operated winery is solely focused on producing wine of the highest quality.

Sabine enjoyed this project on many levels. From getting to know head winemaker Nathan Bailey and his family to learn about the passion and dedication necessary to make premium wine, to enjoying the simple calm and beauty of walking through their vineyards.

She also discovered that a photographer and a winemaker could have much in common in how they approach their craft. Like Sabine, Nathan puts in a lot of hard work, refuses to cut corners, and always strives to improve – all while being limited to the same ingredients and processes each year.

Despite producing a very high-quality product, Nathan is constantly looking for a better result, which Sabine closely identifies with.

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Since graduating in Photographic Design from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Sabine Albers has sought out photographic challenges around the globe.

Throughout this search, Sabine has continued her study of renowned photographers of all periods. While she has great respect for the technique of these artists, it is their philosophy and approach to image capture that she finds most inspiring.

Having lived and worked in New York, London and Sydney, Sabine fell in love with Fremantle and now calls the port city home. Sabine has been involved in major photographic projects, from global adventure racing circuits to worldwide advertising campaigns, to international sporting organisations.

But every so often, Sabine looks for a passion project – a photography or video project that is not commissioned by a client.

There are many motivations for these projects, but at the core is the fundamental challenge of revisiting the same subject, location and people over time. While this repetition and slower pace provide more time to observe and uncover the true underlying story, it also creates a challenge to capture images in different and unique ways to tell a compelling story.

These passion projects provide the creative freedom to capture the story as she sees it, without external influence.