Gabriela Villalba is a Venezuelan-Australian photographer living in Sydney since 2013. Gabby’s work focuses on creative culture and portraiture - her camera has documented many artists and their expressive processes on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
Capturing her subjects in natural light is a hallmark of Gabby’s working method. Pictures that reveal an unguarded moment require spontaneity and a dedicated eye for composition, both of which are intrinsic to her unique way of seeing the world.
Gabby has also turned her lens to a self-portrait journey that pushes the boundaries of documentary photography by making handmade alterations to the images, thereby expressing intimate and personal emotion. In this same spirit, she creates photograms and develops the negatives using cyanotype process (19th Century), not in a dark room, but in the sun. Employing these mixed techniques, sometimes ephemeral, other times permanent, Gabby is creating conceptual photographic hybrids that express flows of feeling.
Awarded "Honorable Mention in Photography" at Warringah Art Prize 2015 in Sydney - Northern Beaches, Gabby studied photography at Roberto Mata School of Photography in Caracas and worked for many years as visual communicator in the advertising industry in Venezuela. She has participated in collective exhibitions in Caracas, Sydney and Newcastle. Gabby is the Co-Founder & Visual Storyteller of Kayapa Creative Studio and has also fostered creative communities on the Northern Beaches as Co-Founder of La Crème Creative Inc. and Brookvale Arts District (BAD).
As a resident of the Northern Beaches I extend my gratitude to the traditional custodians of this land. I pay my respects to Elders past, present, and future and celebrate the richness of Aboriginal cultures that continue to thrive here today.