Manifest Destiny → ILA Adelaide

 You never know what to expect when visiting ILA. The ability of this venue to blend all sensory elements to create an immersive experience that extends beyond just “looking” at art, is truly unique and exciting.   

Currently showing here until the 15th of March as part of the Adelaide Festival, is an immersive photography study by South Australian artist Alex Frayne titled ‘Manifest Destiny.’ With a camera in tow, Frayne has photographed his travels across the United States from the lesser known lens. His aim was to explore the ‘fractured psyche of modern America,’ photographing moments, people and landscapes from the West Coast, Deep South and Bible Belt. 

Beginning with a playfully fun touch, you are welcomed to a Texas-Style roadhouse that is so realistic that you are asked to not leave without trying their hot sauce! Then, you are bid farewell and ushered into the gallery. Covering the walls floor to ceiling are the shots and stories from Frayne’s travels. What has clearly been cleverly constructed, is the juxtaposition Frayne has aimed to highlight. For example, sat below stunning shots of Los Angeles boulevards are scenes of the hallucinating homeless. In another section, the romanticised images of pastel-coloured motels and palm trees are contrasted with images of decaying buildings. And in some photos that from afar seem perfect, when you look in closer, are actually confronting sights of hardship and neglect. 

These scenes are magnified and you are physically thrown into them yourself once you step into ILA’s immersive studio. Suddenly, you are surrounded by the imagery as Frayne narrates his experience now, set to a groovy vapourwave-inspired score by Donnie Sloan.  This part of the exhibition is confronting and engrossing, blending film elements and Frayne's photography in a whirlwind summary of the trip and his findings.  

Through his photographs, Frayne has captured the vision of America that is often neglected and ignored by Americans themselves. Ironically calling his exhibition ‘Manifest Destiny,’ is a witty choice from Frayne as he presents the hard photographic evidence that rebuttals ‘American Dream’ philosophy. This work is poignant, unsettling, educational and also strangely comforting by the fact that Frayne has brought these images to the forefront. Every photograph is an individual narrative, and Frayne’s exhibition fully throws patrons into the good, the bad, and the ugly by activating all the senses and innovating the way in which we engage with photos.