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Picture Paradise

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

10 July-9 November 2008
The National Gallery of Australia
Parkes Place, Parkes

The National Gallery of Australia is known for its wide collection of photographic works from all around Australia, a few less from general Oceania, then a bunch from the USA - and last, with definitely the least, a small sampling from the Asia-Pacific region. Ah, but not any longer.

Over the last couple of years, the NGA has been collecting and building its set of Asia-Pacific photography with a view to giving audiences a stronger impression of Australia's various geopolitical stances within the region.

Now the NGA's new Asia-Pacific collection is being put on display for the first time. With a vast increase in works available for viewing, the exhibition crosses multiple countries and spans a 100-year period, from the 1840s to the 1940s. The exhibition shows off the growth and change of photographic technique over these years, with daguerreotypes, calotypes and various other methods on display. As well as this, subjects vary from royal courts - where photography was first introduced to many Asian countries - to the mundane aspects of life made interesting through photographic skill and the passage of time.

Anyone with a fascination for history, Asia-Pacific culture or photography is well-advised to investigate this impressive display and, should the viewer have a passion for all three aforementioned subjects, they may well never want to leave the exhibition.

Paul Cotton