Creative Collaborations: Australian Photomurals and International Expositions 1937–40

This article explores innovations in photographic production and experimentation in Australia, especially Sydney, from 1935 to 1940. While many photographers and photographic societies were still promoting the aesthetics of Pictorialism, others were responding to new demands and opportunities provided by publishing, advertising, international expositions, local exhibitions and architecture. After introducing some of the forces for change, where there was often an easy exchange between photography and design, the article examines four case studies from 1937 to 1940. Three of these were generated by international expositions; all involved different types of photomurals and collaborations across the arts. These collaborations were instrumental in helping to shape Australian modernism and a postwar recovery within the arts.