Composite image with three photographic images from the Shot exhibition

Shot

Exhibition

400 photographs | 200 photographers| 3 centuries

Exhibition Information

to
Free
Photography Gallery

1 Shakespeare Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
+61 2 9273 1414

View opening hours

400 photographs. 200 photographers. 3 centuries.

A curator looks at the Library’s extraordinary image collection with fresh eyes.

 

Visit our new underground photography gallery and follow the fascinating journey of the photographic image in Australia. 

Shot delves into the Library’s extraordinary collection of two million images and delivers a visual feast of 400 captivating moments — many displayed for the first time — with nearly every photographic format and every year between 1845 and 2022 represented. 

The exhibition features Australia’s oldest photograph, the earliest examples of colour photography, iconic works by some of our most acclaimed photographers and contemporary images and commentary by over 30 living photographers. 

On display for the first time are 25 large glass plate negatives from the Holtermann collection which form an astonishing 9-metre panorama of Sydney in 1875. 

Due to the delicate nature of numerous works, this may be the first and only time to see some of these rare images of Australia’s pictorial history on display.

/dr-william-bland
/truganini
/dog-ride-new-zealand
/shackleton-expedition
/smithys-lockheed-altair-sydney
/photo-kiosk
/book-mugshots
/vietnam-protest-sydney
/sisters
/face-luna-park-sydney
/dove-pink-star-walk-sydney
/quiet-moment-amongst-revelry-sze-yup-temple-glebe-new-south-wales

 

Shot online 

Explore a visual feast of 400 captivating moments by 200 photographers across three centuries.

View online exhibition

MEET THE CURATOR

A smiling man poses for the camera.

Geoffrey Barker

Geoff has worked as a photography curator at the Macleay Museum (now the Chau Chak Wing Museum) at the University of Sydney and at the Powerhouse Museum. He has managed museums and archives in Parramatta and Hurstville. Currently he is Senior Curator, Collection Access and Curation, at the State Library of NSW. Research interests include, Wikimedia and libraries, Paget plates, and early photographic studios in Australia.