Axel Poignant

Axel Poignant
Self-portrait with first movie camera, Perth, 1933-34
Born	(1906-12-12)12 December 1906 Leeds, England
Died	(1986-02-05)5 February 1986
Nationality	Australian
Known for	Photography
Spouse	Sandra St Lucien Eliot Chase

Axel Poignant (2 December 1906 – 5 February 1986) was an Australian photographer.

Personal life

Born on 12 December 1906 at Leeds, England. Poignant was son to his Swedish father and English mother Roslyn Poignant, as well as elder brother to Axel Jonas Alfred Poignant. Axel studied at Grosvenor House School in Harrogate Yorkshire and then moved to Sweden at the end of 1918 where he finished the rest of his education. Once poignant finished school he returned to England in 1925 before he moved to Sydney, Australia in July 1926 reason being the dreadnought scheme. He travelled from place to place looking for work throughout the Sydney and New South wales. Poignant was married to his wife Sandra St Lucien Eliot Chase on 21 April 1930 and then moved to Perth together, Where then he had specialised himself in portrait photography, personal events as well as aerial photography for Western Mining.

Early 1936 Muriel Chase past away of an unexpected heart attack, Poignant's marriage became difficult and then separated but they weren't divorced until 1941. Sandra moved back to Sydney and The Manor and then New Zealand in 1941. Having gotten divorced in 1941 Poignant became a citizen of Australia at the distract registrar's office on 8 July 1942 in Perth, and was married to Ruth Marjorie Pettersen and enlisted for the Imperial Force for Australia the following year, he was discharged in 1945. Poignant passed on 5 February 1986 in his home at Lewisham, London, surviving so long due to his wife’s nurture, Poignant had no children.

Photography

After moving to Perth with his wife in 1930 Poignant gained an interest in photography as a personal career when he enforced in an Leica camera in 1933 and specialised himself in portrait photography through Muriel Chase (Mother-in-Law). Not long after Poignant and Stuart Gore decided to open a studio together in London where they worked on a large range of Aerial photographic survey of the Western Australian goldfields. Photographs of Karri logging at Pemberton in 1935, Kalgoorlie mines in 1936, the Aerial views of the Duke of Gloucester’s arrival in Perth in 1934 and the Anzac day dawn service in Perth 1939 All of these images were a fresh view to the public’s eye due to poignant’s style and technique while shooting for example his choice of angles. In 1935 Poignant broadened his choice of work from dancing and theatre as he had become in contact with Linley Wilson, a principle of a dance studio as well as a colleague and former student Alison Lee. Once his studio was finally set up poignant showcast his photographs and caught the attention of more clients as well as many of the former debutantes that were once at Linley Wilsons School of Dance then moved onto natural history as he became fascinated with the idea of photo-essay and documenting. He had exhibited in Perth 1941 with Hal Missingham. The following year poignant took a trip along canning stock where he took photographs to review ‘marking a change in the portrayal of aborigines’.

Portrait of Alison Lee, Perth, Western Australia, ca. 1933 Axel Poignant.

Poignant's photographs relate to the traditions of Australian and Indigenous Identity. A lot of his work captures a lot of the Outback as well as flora and fauna. After sometime of being in Perth he came to enjoy photo-essay and became fascinated with the idea of 'adding real humanity to the medium'. Throughout his travels he grew strong relationships with Aborigines which we can see in his work, by his beautiful and passionate portraits of these people and their lifestyles. Poignant used angles as a way of creating his strong images such from a low point of view and close up to 'appeal more natural' then sharp and defined like the earlier ethnographic photography.

Exhibitions

In 1986 Poignant’s work was shown in Aspects of Post Modernism 1929-1942 which was held at University of Western Australia in 1986.

September 1941 Poignant and Hal Missingham held an exhibition of fifty photographs each. They gave conversational lectures at the Perth Newspaper House.

Poignant's Retrospective series 1982 were exhibited in different states displaying photographs he had taken throughout the years 1922 to 1980. The NSW Art Gallery had organised his exhibitions.

1982 Exhibition held at NSW Art Gallery: This exhibition was organised by the ANGSW and was taken to different states. 107 photographs were displayed from the years 1922 to 1980.

1982 Exhibition held at Art Gallery of Western Australia: AGNSW touring exhibition. Poignant's series of photographs displayed Kalgoorlie, the Canning Stock Route and Central Australia.

Leading the Dance 1952, Printed 1983. Retrospective Exhibition 1982

1983 Exhibition held at National Gallery of Victoria: Solo Survey Exhibition Linkage Project, Tasmanian School of Arts, UTAS. Photographs, 1922-1980. Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1982.

1983 Exhibition held at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery: This exhibition for Poignant was organised by the NSW Art Gallery (AGNSW). "A major survey of this well known Australian photographer whose reputation was established as a chronicler of Australian life and especially of the Australian Aborigine."

After Poignant's passing the National Library of Victoria, Canberra, and the art gallery of Western Australia and New South Wales hold collections of his work. In 2007 the Art Gallery of New South Wales held an exhibition of his work on Indigenous Connections.