In her exhibition Light | Intersection at PhotoAccess, Alex Walker blurs the boundaries between photography, installation, and spatial experience. Walker’s work invites the viewer into an environment where light is not merely something to look at, but something to move through. For Walker, the experience of light is deeply personal—rooted in her background as a darkroom photographer, where the absence of light in the darkroom made her acutely aware of her surroundings and the space she inhabited while making images. It’s this sense of heightened awareness that she brings into the gallery, transforming the space into a dynamic, living photograph.
Walker’s work is deeply influenced by the internal mechanics of the camera—the path light takes as it travels through the lens, reflected by mirrors, and projected onto surfaces. The triangular mirrors in her work, for instance, mimic the exact angles light travels through inside a camera, a subtle reference to the mechanics of photography. This physicality of light and the way it bends and reflects is a recurring theme in her installations, where the viewer is not just passive, but an active participant in the experience of the work. Through reflective surfaces, angled frames, and projections, Walker creates a space where the lines between image and reality are constantly shifting, inviting viewers to experience the work not as something to observe, but as something to interact with and influence.
One of the defining features of Walker’s work is her use of abstraction and the absence of a clear subject. Influenced by painters like Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler, Walker’s prints are deliberately blurry and abstract, allowing the viewer’s perception to fill in the gaps. There is no focal point, no defined subject matter—instead, the viewer is invited to engage with the interplay of colour, texture, and form, creating their own personal interpretation of the work. This open-ended approach to perception is central to Walker’s practice, as she wants the act of seeing itself to become a meaningful experience for the audience.
In Light | Intersection, Walker’s use of mirrors, light boxes, and projections further complicates the viewer’s perception. The mirrors on the floor, perfectly aligned with the light boxes above, create an uncanny reflection—what is above is also below. This mirroring not only creates a physical space where the viewer can move and adjust their perspective, but it also evokes a sense of connection between the macrocosm and microcosm, a theme that is central to Walker’s exploration of how light and space interact. Through the rotating prism, the projected images are fragmented, refracted, and shifted in subtle ways, adding another layer of complexity to the viewer’s engagement with the work.
Walker’s work encourages us to slow down and notice the light that surrounds us, to rethink the way we perceive space and image. As she explains, her work is a constant exploration of how light shapes what and how we see. Through her installations, she brings us into a world where photography is not just about capturing a moment in time, but about constructing an optical experience that unfolds as we move through it.
Alex Walker is a Melbourne/Naarm-based artist whose practice pushes the boundaries of traditional photography. With a background in analogue photography and an interest in expanded photographic theory, she creates immersive environments that engage with the materiality of light, space, and perception. Walker’s work invites the viewer to become an active participant in the experience of the work, shifting the role of the observer from passive viewer to embodied participant. Her innovative approach to photography blends installation, projection, and physicality, allowing light itself to become a subject in her work.
In the following conversation, Alex Walker shares more about her process and the inspiration behind Light | Intersection, shedding light on the intersection of light, space, and perception that defines her practice.
Alex walker: Light has always fascinated me, it was actually my first word! According to my parents, I pointed to the ceiling light and exclaimed ‘yight!’ So I guess you could say it runs deep.
STAVROS MESSINIS: What inspired the idea of making a space feel like walking into a photograph?
ALEX WALKER: The idea of making a space feel like walking in a photograph derives from my background in analogue photography and the process of printing in the darkroom. There is no light whatsoever in the colour darkroom, so I am very reliant on my body and my awareness of the space around it while I’m making a work. I wanted to translate that perceptual feeling into something I could share with my audience. Additionally, my images often have a lot of layers and depth, I often want to reach in and touch them – so I wanted to try and re-create that feeling in three dimensions.
Why did you use mirrors and angled frames in the works?
I am very drawn to the internal mechanics of the camera – particularly the lens and the mirror. Looking Under and Looking Through are inspired by the path light travels as it moves through the body of the camera. The triangular mirror on each side is the exact shape the light path makes as it enters the lens – bouncing off the mirror before it finally reaches the negative’s surface. I wanted to reference this in the physical presentation of the work, as well as give the feeling the works were peering back at you. For this reason I hung the works quite high on the wall, so the angle was accentuated further as you look up at them.
Your prints are abstract and blurry, without a clear subject. What draws you to that style?
Key inspirations for me are not lens-based artists but painters such as Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler, and Light Space artists such as Robert Irwin and Larry Bell. I think this way of approaching material, surface and colour, as well as a lack of recognisable subject often comes from these influences. These artists prefer to let their audience complete their work, simply by the act of observing or perceiving, I feel the same way with my work. I want to elevate the act of perceiving and give credit to my viewers to have their own experiences. Each experience will be different because we are all different, and that concept really excites me.
There is no light whatsoever in the colour darkroom, so I am very reliant on my body and my awareness of the space around it while I’m making a work. I wanted to translate that perceptual feeling into something I could share with my audience.
The ceiling lightboxes and floor mirrors create a reflection above and below. What did you want people to feel in that space?
The floor mirrors are cut to the exact dimensions of the embedded light boxes above, I wanted to literally and metaphorically mirror the architectural feature I was highlighting. It’s also a play on the hermetic concept ‘as above, so below’ which connects the macrocosm (the universe) and the microcosm (the individual or a specific part of the universe). It implies that what occurs in one realm will be reflected or found in the other.
The installation itself is playful, at the opening event many people were enjoying seeing their reflection and moving their bodies to frame certain elements from different vantage points – that’s exactly how I hoped it would operate. As I mentioned earlier, I’m eager to draw my audience into their bodies and experience what Olafur Eliasson describes as ‘seeing yourself sensing.’
How does the rotating prism change the way we see the projected image?
I first began experimenting with refracted projections in my site-responsive exhibition Light | Space | Image at Quality last year. There is something so compelling about the way a projected image warps as it travels across the different architectural planes of a space. By using a triangular prism, the image is split in three – one is the original, one is reversed and one is refracted into a beautiful rainbow ‘echo’. By rotating the prism, there is a sense of organic rhythm and movement that activates the static image. In Light | Intersection I have pared this back by projecting white light, interspersed with a diagram I found in the PhotoAccess library, which depicts the process of light refracting and rainbows.
In this show, light isn’t just for seeing—it’s part of the artwork. Why is that important to you?
Light has always fascinated me, it was actually my first word! According to my parents, I pointed to the ceiling light and exclaimed ‘yight!’ So I guess you could say it runs deep. As I grew older, especially as I learned more about photography, my connection to light grew and grew. The juxtaposition between light and dark which is so integral to the analogue photographic process (ie. you need light to make an image, but darkness to process it) has always been an appealing metaphor, as well as a universal theme to respond to in my work.
By rotating the prism, there is a sense of organic rhythm and movement that activates the static image.
Viewers become part of the work as they move around. How do you see their role in the exhibition?
Viewers are critical, I often use the term ‘audience-participant’ as I feel this best describes their role – active and engaged. The act of perception is the work itself; it needs to be perceived. Moving around the space to frame and influence the reflected image in each floor mirror is the work. Following a light refraction with your eyes as it slides from wall to wall is the work. Realising the prints are leaning forward and backward within their metal frames is the work. Without the audience-participant, it’s unfinished.
Is Light | Intersection a new direction for you, or does it build on your earlier work?
Light | Intersection is the first time I feel I have successfully combined two arms of my practice that I have previously kept separate, that is – site responsive installation/projection and my photographic objects/framed works. It builds on many years of work across multiple mediums, from colour darkroom to projection to spatial interventions. In this exhibition, they all seem to work in harmony with one another which is a very exciting step for me.
AS ALEX WALKER continues to explore the boundaries of photography, Light | Intersection reveals her deep engagement with light, space, and perception. In this exhibition, light is not just something we look at; it becomes something we feel and move through. Walker transforms photography from a static image into a dynamic experience, where the viewer becomes an essential part of the work. The installation invites us to rethink how we interact with art, encouraging us to slow down, engage, and reflect on the act of seeing.
Light | Intersection is on view at PhotoAccess in Canberra until May 10, 2025, offering a space where light, movement, and your presence come together to create a unique and ever-changing dialogue between the work and the audience.
Read more about the exhibition here: “Light | Intersection” – Alex Walker at PhotoAccess
