Exhibition: New light – Photography Now and Then

A display of photography spanning 1890 to 2024

‘With the power to freeze and preserve time, photography has captured imaginations for centuries. New Light: Photography Now + Then, an exhibition where past and present converge in a mesmerising display of photography spanning 1890 to 2024.

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 (photograph above), 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.

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.

Photographers featured include Alan Gamble, Bailey Hoare, Ben Mills, Benjamin Van Gestel, Brendon Patrick, Carly Wood, Catherine George, Caylie Jeffery, Chris Hagen, Chris Grealy, Christopher Banks, Claudia Baxter, Daniel Kassulke, Delma Newton, Eleonora Deak, Floyd Wilcox, Gail Neumann, George Webster, Heidi den Ronden, Helen Hancock, Hongyuan Xu, Hui Lin, Stacie Ong, Jade Loo, Jade Taniora, Jami Melvin, Jan Figueroa, Jo-Anne Ibell, John Downs, Kailum Graves, Kate Bryan, Kate Travis, Kehl Jones, Kevin Foo, Kim Marston, Kim McHardy, Kyle George, Kyle Wassink, Lachlan Rayner, Lorella Masci, Louie Manning, Maite Hijosa Feijoo, Marc Roberts, Mark Coleman, Michael Rayner, Michael Verhoef, Michaela Bariesheff, Mitchell Reilly, Naomi McKenzie, Natalie Lorenz, Pete Law, Peter Hickson, Phoenix Potoi, Rebecca Phillips, Riley Purcell, Robbie Hume, Robyn Wood, Ronald Maynard, Rosemary Featherstone, Ross Anderson, Sarah O’Neill, Sharde Anne, Steve Swart, Terrence Gillespie, Therese Smith, Thom Ryan, Vince McLachlan, Zachary Yeo and Zhan The.’ Museum of Brisbane website.