The Sydney Morning Herald’s award-winning photojournalism will be showcased in the annual Photos1440 photographic exhibition, to be held from January 16 to April 25 at Sydney’s State Library.
Photos1440 will also be marking its 10th year, looking back over the past decade of key events and moments captured through the eyes of the Sydney Morning Herald photographers. The exhibition will feature more than 200 images including award-winning photography from Sydney Morning Herald chief photographer Nick Moir and Gold Walkley winner Kate Geraghty.
The Last Post echoed across suburban rooftops as ANZAC Day dawn services were cancelled during COVID-19 lockdown. In Daceyville Albie Woodhouse, 17, played his trumpet. Photo by Cole Bennetts.
From the wreckage of the MH17 plane crash site strewn amongst sunflowers and images that sum up the classic Australian ‘she’ll be right’ attitude during the Queensland floods, to a poignant frame of Newmarch House resident Alice Bacon, who was the 100th COVID-19 victim in Australia, to dramatic scenes of firefighters fleeing a firestorm, Photos1440 is a celebration of photojournalism that has the power to inspire, to educate and to form opinion.
Mags King, the Sydney Morning Herald’s managing photo editor and curator of the exhibition said: “Our photographs are more than the first draft of history; they’re powerful gut punches that force everyone from politicians and philanthropists to mums and dads to sit up and take notice. They demand a visceral response.”
“This year’s Photos1440 showcases some of the most poignant, powerful, spectacular and quiet moments that we have had the privilege to witness. In particular, the images from the past 12 months capture the stories that have unified – and divided – us all. This year, whilst some of us were in lockdown, Sydney Morning Herald photographers continued to work under trying circumstances wearing PPE and working within COVID-19 guidelines. We hope that this exhibition moves people but it is really all about sharing the stories.”
Dating back more than 100 years, the Sydney Morning Herald’s photography has been documenting the stories that have shaped Sydney since the early 1900s. Photos1440 will be held at Sydney’s State Library from January 16 to April 25, 2021. Admission is free.
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Top Photo: A fire truck escapes an inferno in Orangeville, west of Campbelltown, during January’s bushfires. Photo by SMH Chief photographer Nick Moir.