Statement
From the series 'Yusef is right here (for now)'.
Yusef Hourani is a talented painter and a childhood friend of mine. In 2019 he left Perth for Florence, studying at the Florence Academy of Art. Since then, he has only returned to Australia for a couple of small windows and in 2022, Yusef returned for one last prolonged stay.
Originally planned between coffee and walks in Fremantle, this series of photos captured Yusef returning home. To the house, study, garden, and city he grew up in. In the year he stayed, Yusef painted, worked, and played with his childhood cats again. All the while trying hard to get a quality exhibition off the ground.
In the end, Perth was unable to captivate him… Yusef would once again be leaving. We will lose of one of our greatest classical painters and Yusef’s house and friends will miss him again.
Since graduating with a degree in Screen Arts, Baeley has managed a myriad of video and photo content from short films to music video. Uniform across all his work, is a curious and experimental direction.