Tracy Ponich: Business Not Usual Pop Up Exhibition
Free exhibition in the Cultural Centre’s Lounge Area
15 January – 20 March
Photographer Tracy Ponich created a collection of portraits in the autumn of 2020 during the first COVID-19 shutdown. The faces in Business Not Usual tell the story of the early days of the pandemic when suddenly a new set of rules governed every interaction and every decision. Like so many photographers everywhere, Tracy felt compelled to create a visual record of that unimaginable time.
In that moment the main streets of the towns changed. In 2020 some business owners chose to close their shops – waiting, worrying, wondering when they could re-open again. Others transformed their spaces, modified procedures, and became something different.
A few months later the streets came back to life. Shops, cafes, and galleries filled with visitors again. On 26 June 2021 an exhibition of these portraits opened at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre as part of the Exposé Program. By the end of that same day Greater Sydney went into a long lockdown. Business Not Usual ran for seven hours; ironically the portraits hung for the duration in an empty gallery. This pop up show is an iteration of the original Business not Usual exhibition and will be on display in the Cultural Centre Lounge area, free to all visitors.
Image: TRACY PONICH, Sian & Dwayne, Aunty Ed’s Restaurant & Bar, Katoomba 2020, digital photograph, 48 x 72cm. Image courtesy of the artist.
