Australia is a photographer’s paradise: the red dirt expanses, the landmarks, the diaspora of terrains and landscapes, the melting pot of captivating animal species, the wealth of architectural delights.
But whether this is cause or effect, Australia produces amazing photographers too. From emerging talents portraying everyday life in urban sprawls to innovators producing incredibly creative photography, there are so many Australian photographers pushing the boundaries of the art form.
Back in 2016, we wrote about a few of our favourite Australian photographers. But we barely scraped the surface so we wanted to include a few more whose work is distinctly Australian. And distinctly special.
Ben Lawrence
Picture: Ben Lawrence Photography
Photography aficionados may remember Ben Lawrence for his 2013 photography series Redfern, I Love You.
As the name suggests, the intimate portraits documented the inner-city suburb’s residents – many from migrant or indigenous backgrounds – as Redfern grappled with a period of rapid gentrification.
The Sydney local is both a photographer and an acclaimed filmmaker, and he seems to be focusing on the latter. His debut feature documentary, Ghosthunter, is currently premiering at film festivals and is slated for a wider release in 2019.
Tracey Moffatt
Picture: Art Gallery NSW
Like Ben Lawrence, Tracey Moffatt is both a photographer and filmmaker. And as a result, her beautiful photographs often have a cinematic, stylistic air to them.
To create her unique style, Tracey Moffatt often draws on the imagery she devoured throughout her childhood in the 1960s, creating photographs that evoke B-grade 1950s pulp films or early 1970s television.
But far from focusing purely on style, her photographs are always thought-provoking and tackle a wide spectrum of social and political issues around race or violence, adolescence or sexuality.
Bill Henson
Those lucky enough to see Bill Henson’s NGV exhibition in 2017 were treated to a captivating body of photography. Often on large canvases, his photos captured a truly artistic sensibility that mirrored still life paintings and explores themes of mystery and shadow.
At times confronting and haunting and evocative (sometimes all at once), Bill Henson’s photography has exhibited in some of the leading galleries around the world, such as the Guggenheim in New York, the Venice Biennale and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
He’s come a long way from his humble beginnings at Prahran College of Advanced Education, where he studied Visual Arts and Design in the mid 1970s.
Petrina Hicks
Picture: This is No Fantasy
Commercial photography techniques are front-and-centre of Petrina Hicks’ artworks, which have been exhibited widely in Australia and across the globe – Italy, USA, UK, Japan, China, Mexico & Brazil to name a few.
Her photographs explore female sexuality as well as the wonderful juxtaposition between animal and human (her photos may include a snake wrapped around a woman’s head).
Her overall aesthetic is slick and stylish, mostly with monotone backgrounds, but look more closely and these incredibly attractive veneers are juxtaposed with unsettling details…reptiles, unnerving props, ghostly makeup.
Justin Gilligan
At Camera House, we like to keep up with emerging Australian photographers and we really like the work of the 2017 Nature Photographer of the Year Justin Gilligan.
The freelance photographer from New South Wales specialises in underwater photography and has been taking photographs of marine life for two decades, ever since he was a teenager.
Justin Gilligan caught his award-winning shot of an army of spider crabs battling a predatory octopus while shooting an artificial reef experiment off Maria Island in Tasmania.
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