Phonies is a group photography exhibition made up of three contributors, presented by China Heights Gallery. Photographers Nash Ferguson, Sam Stephenson and poet/musician Mitch Tolman use the photographic medium to present new exhibited printed works.
 "Phonies" is a funny word to throw around. Rick Rubin said the realest thing out was WWE. Show us your negative.
Dishonest instant images, an intro to the new nostalgia and vibrant flashes of colour from the past.
 Sam Stephenson began taking photos as a teenager and developing them in the neighbour's darkroom of his parent's home. In his beginnings, he avoided the staged image, instead photographing what presented itself in day-to-day life.
His portfolio is a subjective reportage of the lives closest to him. Sam strives to document the lives and activities of musicians, artists and skateboarding friends. Today Sam continues to publish his own books, exhibits his ceramics and photography around Sydney.
 Nash Ferguson's 'still life' images are inspired by the mise-en-scène and female characters of films from the 80s. The overtness of colour, lighting and our ability to suspend disbelief in this period is what attracts her to films of this era. In this work Nash uses inanimate subject matter such as flowers to make portraits that possess a surreal human-like quality. Like the world of a film from this period the hope is that these images provide a soothing reprieve from reality.
She documents her world mostly in colour and tries to find beauty in the mundane. When she isn’t pounding the pavement in search of good light and a one of a kind moment, you can find her at home arranging flowers and making still life images.
Nash is a film and digital photographer based on Gadigal Country. She has always had a love for film and storytelling and was involved with the film and television industry from a young age. She studied Media Arts and Production at UTS and it was there that peaked her interest in cinematography and photography. After a career in film and television production she made a departure to focus on photography.
In 2018 she received a Diploma in Photography and Photo Imaging and in 2019 Greenpeace Australia asked her to document the aftermath of the bushfires in Northern NSW. In 2022, She was one of the 28 finalists in the Australian Life Photography Prize exhibited in Hyde Park Sydney with her image Full Moon on Simms Hill.
 Mitch Tolman is a Sydney based lyricist and poet, working across the mediums of soundtracks, film scores, live music and electronica.
Known for his internationally acclaimed punk band Low Life, his primary focus has shifted to the electronic dance music persona 3NDLES5, layering observational ambient lyrics and poetry.
 He has created the 'NOTHING' series of still images, as a non-linear vehicle for his dysfunctional limericks.
 "I took photos of the tele on my phone
 we printed them via bluetooth onto Polaroids 
we entombed them in plastic
and put them on a wall"