The Project
Spanning five years, five countries, and 11 unique music festivals.
Nic Bezzina’s objective was to capture the energy and beauty of the fans and create a rousing series of unconventional, dynamic and narrative images. This is a stunning portfolio that will appeal to anyone who enjoys fine photography and intriguing visual stories. It will no doubt be a timeless reminder of the power of music and the fashion and culture of a generation.
Music festivals across the world attract hundreds of thousands of people every year. It is a melting pot of characters and styles brought together by their passion for live music. Music and society have always been intimately related. When they both come together, it becomes a rite of passage for many people; just one day can create memories that will last long after the stages are dismantled and the bands move on. This series turns the camera away from the bands and focuses on capturing the emotion of the individual in the crowd.
Live music has the power to free people of their inhibitions and provides a platform to express their passion in a shared environment. These images are beautiful, evocative, and at times surreal. It is powerful at the individual level because it can induce multiple responses that are physiological, kinetic, emotional, cognitive, behavioral – sometimes all at once. Few other stimuli have the power to affect such a wide range of human functions.
The festivals captured include:
Wacken (Germany)
Download (UK)
Sonisphere (UK)
Bloodstock (UK)
Hellfest (France)
Primavera Music (Spain)
Big Day Out (AU)
Future Music (AU)
Soundwave (AU)
Splendour In The Grass (AU)
“People are fucked and fucking beautiful, but like Depeche Mode sang one time, ‘People are people.’ We don’t get to feel that truism come to life on the streets or at the office or even across from one another in a café. It happens here, at the apex of sweat and sound, when shields come crashing and we stand on them, neither black or white but the gradients in between where nothing means anything except the present intense. You are not your colour. You are not your age. You are not your sex. You are not your disability. The only thing you are is alive, and someday you won’t be that, either. That’s OK. What a ride.”
– Toby McCasker, VICE journalist
The Book
In November 2015, subject to the success of this Kickstarter campaign, Nic Bezzina will publish RELEASE THE CROWD as a hard-cover photography book. There are also plans to tour Release the Crowd as an exhibition in 2016.
We think these great photographs have something positive to say about human connection and it’s correlation with live music. It is powerful at the level of the social group because it facilitates communication that goes beyond words. It enables unspoken meaning to be shared, and promotes the development and maintenance of individual, group, cultural and national identities.
This book will display over 100 rich black and white photographs from music festivals across the globe. In seeking support to make the book possible, we want to ask you to help us.
Thank you for making this book possible.
Book Details
RELEASE THE CROWD
Photographs by Nic Bezzina
Text: Essay by TBA
Photographs: approx. over 100 in B&W
Size: approx. 218mm wide x 292mm deep (8.58in wide x 11.49in deep) Retail price: approx. AU$60 + GST of 10% in Australia Only
Publication date: November 2015
The book will acknowledge the names of all the people who help make the book possible by supporting this Kickstarter campaign as per the pledges.
Video Thanks
Filming: Matthew Machado
Editing: Carl Whitbread
Music: ‘Your Mates’ by High Tension
Pledge $10 or more
Receive a Thank You shout-out on Nic’s personal Instagram [@nicbezzina]
Pledge $40 or more
Receive a copy of the book RELEASE THE CROWD, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney. We are offering $20.00 off of the recommended retail price, EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter.
Pledge $60 or more
Receive a signed copy of the book RELEASE THE CROWD, your acknowledgment in the book, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney.
Pledge $100 or more
Receive a signed Special Edition copy of the book RELEASE THE CROWD with cloth/linen cover, inset picture and foiling of text unique to this edition, your acknowledgment in the book, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney, Australia. EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter.
Pledge $100 or more
Receive 2 signed copies of the book RELEASE THE CROWD, dedicated to you or to a special friend, your acknowledgment in the book and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney.
Pledge $140 or more
Receive a signed and numbered LIMITED EDITION C-Type print, 180mm x 260mm (7in x 10in) of Hellfest, France 2014, enclosed in a Mylar sleeve within the signed book, RELEASE THE CROWD. Your acknowledgment in the book and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney. EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter. (Limited to 100)
Pledge $180 or more
Receive a signed and numbered LIMITED EDITION C-Type print, 180mm x 260mm (7in x 10in) of Wacken Open Air Germany 2013, enclosed in a Mylar sleeve within the signed and numbered Special Edition book RELEASE THE CROWD with cloth/linen cover, inset picture and foiling of text. Your acknowledgment in the book and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney. EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter. (Limited to 50)
Pledge $350 or more
Receive an LIMITED ARTIST EDITION of the book RELEASE THE CROWD with unique hand-made pages and cover signed and numbered in an edition of 25, each book will be different. Your acknowledgment in the book, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney, Australia. (Limited to 5)
Pledge $500 or more Receive a private one-on-one tutorial session in photography with Nic in Sydney only, a signed copy of the book RELEASE THE CROWD, your acknowledgment in the book, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney, Australia. (Limited to 5)
Pledge $650 or more
Receive a special 406mm x 584mm (16in x 23in) limited-edition photograph from the Release The Crowd series, Bloodstock, 2014, signed and numbered in an edition of 5, a signed Special Edition book RELEASE THE CROWD with cloth/linen cover, inset picture and foiling of text. Your acknowledgment in the book, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney, Australia. EXCLUSIVE to Kickstarter.
Pledge $1,000 or more
Receive a private portrait session with Nic resulting a number of images. (to be produced in Sydney within six month of book release). Includes a signed copy of the book RELEASE THE CROWD, your acknowledgment in the book, and an invitation to the book launch in Sydney, Australia.
BIOS
Nic Bezzina Based in Sydney and born in Broken Hill NSW, Nic Bezzina is a portrait and fine art photographer with a passion for long-term book projects. In 2011 Nic won the Monster Children photography competition in the music category and has been a finalist in various photographic awards including Moran Contemporary Photography Prize, PDN Music Moment, and the HeadOn Portrait Prize. He has exhibited his work at the State Library of NSW, Sydney Town Hall, and China Heights gallery. Nic’s work is held in public and private collections including the State Library of NSW, City of Sydney Archives, and the National Museum of Australia.
T&G Publishing
Australian-based T&G Publishing specialises in establishing a creative dialogue with the acclaimed photographers they publish. Using the finest design and most advanced printing practices, T&G are committed to showcasing elite photographic art – emanating from both Australia and worldwide. As a measure of the global recognition of the quality of T&G’s creative publishing of photography, Australian artist Max Pam’s “Atlas Monographs” was awarded the Best Photographic Book of the Year, International Category prize at the 2010 PHotoEspaña International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts, in Madrid, Spain.
The risks and challenges when publishing a photobook include the possibility of delay, but Nic Bezzina and T&G Publishing are highly experienced at dealing with the production and printing challenges involved in making great photo books. If this campaign is successful, we will do everything possible to make sure the book is published in November 2015.