During 1988, with the financial assistance of the Australian Bicentennial Authority, the Queensland Art Gallery commissioned six photographers to produce a portfolio on the theme of community life in Queensland entitled ‘Journeys north’. Last exhibited in January 1988 it is an ideal time to re-examine this portfolio which highlights how Queensland has changed in the intervening 28 years since the commission.
The photographers involved travelled to different regions of Queensland where, over a period of about eighteen months, they documented through their work, the lifestyles, attitudes and values of Queensland society in the late 1980s. Photographers include: Graham Burstow, Lin Martin, Robert Mercer, Glen O’Malley, Charles Page and Max Pam.
Queensland Art Gallery (QAG)
Until 3 July, 2016
Queensland
Robert Mercer (Ireland/Australia, b.1949), Young dancers, Kuranda, Laura Dance Festival, Cape York (from ‘Journeys north’ portfolio), 1987, gelatin silver photograph on paper, purchased 1987 with the financial assistance of the Australian Bicentennial Authority to commemorate Australia’s Bicentenary in 1988 Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. Courtesy Queensland Art Gallery (QAGOMA), Brisbane