In the photographic series The Christmas tree bucket, 2006–9, Adelaide-based photographer Trent Parke presents a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.
Centred on the chaos, contradictions, and rituals of the suburban Australian Christmas, it’s a candid, unsettling, and often absurd portrait of family life. A small selection of work from Parke’s black-and-white series Minutes to midnight, 2003–4 and a number of his handmade concertina photobooks, which he sees as a central part of his practice, appear together with the series.
National Gallery of Australia
1 Nov 2025 to 6 September 2026
Australian Capital Territory
Trent Parke, Christmas tree, 2008
National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 2013
© the artist
Courtesy the artist, Hugo Michell Gallery, Adelaide and Michael Reid Galleries, Sydney
