Haydn Cattach
Haydn Cattach is a Melbourne based photographer who graduated RMIT University with a BA in Photography in 2009. Through more than 15 years of industry participation, Haydn has explored the combinations of artificial and ambient light to bring narratives and drama to pieces created by some of Australia’s leading designers.

Haydn views his collaborations with designers as a privilege, one in which he is entrusted to visually describe collections that have been meticulously created by designers. The control of light within his work is paramount to the image success; complex arrangements are employed to create shape, form, texture and intrigue.

The Project
“Editions” is a collection of images created in collaboration with acclaimed Australian designer Ross Gardam. An exercise in the tension between object and space, each form is illuminated from highly textural cool darkness then intercepted by a warm other-worldly light source. The ‘under-construction’ brutalist environment is a project by Splinter Society, the rich textural and often unfinished elements are revealed through a mixture of artificial and ambient light.

As the project name suggests, each Edition is a unique moment in the Ross Gardam Collection and warranted a visual reimagining to curate these pieces within their own individual spaces. The project became an exercise in meticulous planning but still relied upon a ‘found object’ mentality, it was important to maintain an open minded approach as the spaces revealed angles and contrasts across two days. The approach to the shoot was an ‘in camera’ one; the complex lighting was created as is, with technique at the forefront rather than a post production mindset. The nature of the collaborative approach I share with Ross Gardam allowed for a flexing of problem solving muscles within the photographic craft, time was dedicated to building the rigs that created warm and cool light with dramatic interplay.

Designer: Ross Gardam and Splinter Society