Moving document

In 2003, photographer Trent Parke and his partner Narelle Autio set off on a journey around Australia. But this was far from a quaint sight-seeing tour. Parke and Autio delved into what Parke describes as “dark country”, the places far from the easy gentility of the major cities. The result is his remarkable photo-essay Minutes to Midnight, now showing at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney.

The exhibition is prefaced by a series of rather more conventional travel photographs taken by Autio presenting a kind of logical timeline for the journey itself, before entering Parke’s exhibition proper. The contrast between the sunny foyer where Autio’s mostly colour photographs are displayed and the dark, brooding spaces housing Parke’s black-and-white work is telling.

Minutes to Midnight documents an Australia rarely seen by any one individual. From the glittering cities to brutality of life in the bush; from the shining faces of hopeful children to the trenchant hopelessness of those affected by alcohol and drugs, this is a an excellently constructed exhibition and one that’s also deeply affecting.

From the striking Midnight, self portrait; Menindee, outback NSW in the first room, you know this isn’t going to be a conventional travelogue. The exhibition contains some quite remarkable (and several shocking) images. Parke’s capture of a rally car racing in Western Australia is visually stunning, but it’s his “quieter” pictures that provoke the deepest emotional response. Street scene, Wiluna, WA is one of these, a work capturing a heartbreaking moment with great clarity.

Weather features heavily in Parke’s compositions. From the rain falling on B&S Ball, New Year's Eve, Gunnedah, NSW to the brooding skies looming over Beauty Queens, Babinda Annual Harvest Festival, Queensland, Parke is acutely aware of the role weather plays in rural areas. Of course, the weather has always played a huge role in Australian life; but Parke manages to capture the essence of it elegantly.

Five-metre shark, Cottesloe Beach, WA 2004*

The images in the exhibition are certainly wide-ranging. There’s wildlife, babies (including Parke and Autio’s son being born), children, reckless youths, wizened age, sparkling cities and dusty country roads. Despite the disparity of the individual images, they all come together in a coalescence of what it means to be Australian.

The exhibition is tied together by a video presentation of Parke’s statement (more a thesis really) about the journey and what prompted it. This helps give context to the show, making the images more powerful than they would be individually. Also be sure to pick up the excellent room notes which provide even more information.

One of my personal favourite images in Minutes to Midnight is Five-metre shark, Cottesloe Beach, WA. The shark is (at least so far as I could ascertain) nowhere to be seen. Instead, his camera concentrates on the people on the beach. They arc around the small cove in an almost unbroken line, all staring out into the water – invaders pushed back to the limit of their safety zone by a presence about which most understand little. It’s perhaps the perfect metaphor for Australia today – afraid to go into the water, but still fascinated by what’s out there.

David Edwards

* NOTE: All images are © Trent Parke and are courtesy of Magnum Photos

Send us your feedback on this article or anything else in The Blurb

Minutes to Midnight

Artist: Trent Parke
Venue: Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
Dates: To February 20, 2005