New Light: Photography Now + Then

With the power to freeze and preserve time, photography has captured imaginations for centuries. This August, step into New Light: Photography Now + Then, an exhibition where past and present converge in a mesmerising display of photography spanning 1890 to 2024. Immerse yourself in the remarkable tale of amateur Brisbane photographer Alfred Henrie Elliott (1870-1954), whose extraordinary images lay dormant for decades until they were discovered in 1983, stored in cedar cigar boxes beneath a home in Red Hill. Initially thought to comprise 300 glass-plate negatives and a trusty tailboard camera, the collection’s narrative took an unexpected turn in 2014 with the discovery of an additional cigar box brimming with over 400 film negatives and 92 prints. Drawing on this treasure trove of an archive, seven contemporary Brisbane photographers will debut exciting new commissions responding to different parts of the Elliott Collection. Brisbane’s photography community have also responded to the archive and a selection of images will be shown in a display titled Viewfinders. By layering their own perspectives, knowledge and experiences onto the collection, the artists will encourage new ways of looking at our past, our present and this place. Come celebrate the ever-inspiring interpretive capacity of photography this August. Contemporary artists: Marian Drew, Jo-Anne Driessens, Joachim Froese, Tammy Law, Carl Warner, Nina White and Keemon Williams.