an exhibition at the Australian Embassy in Paris
Trent Mitchell’s iconic roadtrip series makes a stop in Paris for its first-ever exhibition showing.
PHOTO Australia in partnership with the Australian Embassy in Paris is pleased to announce Australian Lustre, a solo exhibition by Australian photographer Trent Mitchell.
Trent Mitchell (b.1979), who has been photographing professionally for two decades, has a narrative approach to his work, focusing on the environment in the broadest possible sense. Although best known for his water photography, he has also gained a reputation for his wry yet sensitive take on the manmade world, zeroing in on its various idiosyncrasies and contradictions. On both personal and assigned projects, his work is identified by an ability to not only compose his subject but distil the sensibility of the location and give a connection to place.
Working across digital and film, in both black and white and colour, this Australian photographer, who has a background in art direction, design and publishing, has received wide recognition internationally. He won the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize in 2015, and has been a finalist for the award over a number of years. He has also been featured in, among others, the International Photography Awards, Sony World Photography Awards, Head On and Australian Life Photographic Prize. His work has been acquired for many public and private collections, including the National Library of Australia.
Australian Lustre is a dreamlike odyssey through the vastness of the Australian landscape, where memory and myth merge in the sparkling heat. Inspired by the road trips of his childhood, Trent Mitchell’s work captures the golden glow of endless summers: dusty roads, remnants of gas stations, and the monumental presence of the “Big Things” that dot the continent.
A unique phenomenon of the Australian landscape, the “Big Things” — oversized sculptures such as Big Prawn and Big Koala — have become cultural icons, crystallising a collective imagination. These extravagant monuments, sentinels of a bygone era, stand proudly on the side of the road, where childlike wonder mingles with sweet nostalgia.
Both cinematic and surreal, Mitchell’s photographs retrace a fifteen-year journey in which each image becomes a fragment of memory. Through the artist’s lens, ordinary landscapes are transformed into fantastical ones, freezing small towns at the crossroads of past and present, where memories mingle with dreams, creating a strange poetry in the Australian landscape.
On show until 5 October, the exhibition continues PHOTO Australia’s commitment to presenting Australian photographic talent on the global stage.
Australian Lustre Exhibition details: The Australian Embassy in Paris, 4 Rue Jean Rey, 75015 Paris, France
Artistic Director: Elias Redstone, Curator: Brendan McCleary, Presented by PHOTO Australia, Supported by the Australian Embassy in Paris as part of the France-Australia Cultural Initiative, Exhibition Printing by Fini Frames
Read a recent interview with Trent Mitchell.