“… what lies behind a brownstone front”

After entering the nondescript door to her building, ordinary Oliver Reed follows Irena Dubrovna as she ascends the ornate stairs that lead to her front door. He hovers at the foot of the stairs, and rhetorically admits: “I never cease to marvel at what lies behind a brownstone front.” Behind each façade lies something hidden. What lies hidden from Oliver Reed in Cat People (1942) are the dormant stories waiting behind each door. This article is based on my presentation at the 2009 Double Dialogues Conference, Hidden Stories, held in Melbourne, December 2009. In the Conference presentation, the early scenes from Cat People were screened with the film sound interspersed with my commentary. This article uses still frames from the film, descriptions from the original screenplay (in courier font) and the storyboard layout for a DVD commentary.

The pyjama girl mystery : a true story of murder, obsession and lies

The pyjama girl was an unknown woman, found dumped by a road nesrl Albury in 1934. She had been brutally murdered. Who was she, and who killed her, become Australia's great unsolved crime for decades. The body was preserved in formalin, her image circulated around the world. The mystery fascinated the nation and, for some, became an obsession. Ten years later, the body was identified and a man was convicted of her manslaughter. The case, it seemed, was neatlty solved. But this 'solution', advanced by police, accepted by the courts and the media, and since repeated endlessly, was a lie. Behind the lie is a troubling story of murder and obsession, of a wild conspiracy theory, of police corruption and a miscarriage of justice, and of a real killing which floated free from reality and became a myth.

Phiction : lies, illusion and the phantasm in photography

A touring exhibition of historic, modern and contemporary photographs from the collection of Horsham Regional Art Gallery, selected by curator James McArdle. This exhibition celebrates the originality and diversity of Australian vision in image and text.

Phiction : lies, illusion and the phantasm in photography

A touring exhibition of historic, modern and contemporary photographs from the collection of Horsham Regional Art Gallery, selected by curator James McArdle. His selection included photographs from the 19th century, with an emphasis on photographs which are not what they seem. The exhibition was designed to make us 'read' photographs more precisely, and appreciate the art of the photographer. This exhibition celebrated the originality and diversity of Australian vision in image and text.