SOMETIMES an exhibition is more than a showcase of images — it becomes a moment that shifts how a nation’s stories are seen, valued and remembered. Right now in Arles, France, one of those moments is unfolding. On Country: Photography from Australia has opened at the world-renowned Rencontres d’Arles festival, making history as the first time in the festival’s 55-year run that Australian photography has been given such a prominent platform.
For Australian artists, curators and audiences back home, this is far more than just another exhibition. It’s a powerful recognition of Australian photographic practice on the world stage, brought about through the dedicated efforts of PHOTO Australia and a network of supporters who understood that these stories needed — and deserved — an international audience.
At the heart of this landmark show is the concept of being ‘on Country’ — a term grounded in the worldviews of Australia’s First Peoples. It describes a profound connection to land, water, sky and ancestors; a relationship that is spiritual, cultural and often deeply personal. It’s a concept that stands in stark contrast to the way landscapes are so often viewed in the West: as scenery to be admired, developed or owned.
Curated by PHOTO Australia’s Founder and Artistic Director Elias Redstone, alongside Guest Curator Kimberley Moulton (Yorta Yorta) and PHOTO Australia curators Pippa Milne and Brendan McCleary, the exhibition invites viewers in Arles to consider these deeper ways of being in place — and to see Australia beyond its tourist clichés.
Voices from across Australia
On Country brings together the work of 17 artists and collectives, each offering a unique perspective on place, memory, identity and belonging. Featured are:
Tony Albert (Kuku Yalanji) & David Charles Collins
Ying Ang
Atong Atem
Elisa Jane Carmichael (Ngugi/Quandamooka) & Sonja Carmichael (Ngugi/Quandamooka)
Maree Clarke (Yorta Yorta/Wamba Wamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung)
Michael Cook (Bidjara)
Brenda L Croft (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra)
J Davies
Liss Fenwick
Adam Ferguson
Robert Fielding (Yankunytjatjara/Western Arrernte)
The Huxleys (Gumbaynggirr/Yorta Yorta)
Ricky Maynard (Pakana)
Lisa Sorgini
Tace Stevens (Noongar/Spinifex)
wani toaishara
James Tylor (Kaurna)
Their practices range from intimate family portraits and collaborations with community, to powerful staged works and meditations on the Australian environment. Together, they reveal a complex, honest and often confronting portrait of life on — and with — Country today.
Many of these works stand as acts of self-determination, rewriting visual archives long dominated by colonial viewpoints.
Reclaiming the narrative
This exhibition isn’t just about showing Australian images to European eyes. Many of these works stand as acts of self-determination, rewriting visual archives long dominated by colonial viewpoints. For First Nations artists in particular, photography becomes a means of reclaiming stories, reconnecting to culture, and asserting sovereignty over how their communities are seen and remembered.
When festival director Christoph Wiesner selected Warakurna Superheroes #1 — a collaboration between Tony Albert, David Charles Collins and children from a remote Northern Territory community — as the hero image for the entire 2025 festival, it was more than a marketing choice.
The work, showing Indigenous kids dressed in handmade superhero costumes against the dramatic outback, is playful and full of pride. It stands as a joyful, powerful rebuttal to historic stereotypes, asserting that these young people are authors of their own stories.
A vibrant opening week
Held at Église Sainte-Anne, the exhibition is part of a lively opening week program (7–13 July) that includes panel discussions on art as resistance and rethinking the archive, performances by Melbourne’s flamboyant art-fashion duo The Huxleys, and a deeply moving set by the intergenerational First Nations choir Djinama Yilaga.
Many of the choir’s members appear in Brenda L Croft’s portraits within the exhibition. They were joined by cultural leader Paul Girrawah House on yidaki (didjeridu) alongside his son Reuben, bringing ancient songlines into the heart of Arles.
Atong Atem, also exhibiting, has been nominated for the prestigious Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles, further underscoring how Australian artists are not just participating — they’re being recognised at the highest levels.
Why this matters for Australian art
On Country marks an important moment for Australian photography. Thanks to the leadership of PHOTO Australia — along with support from the Australian Government’s International Cultural Diplomacy Arts Fund, the Bowness Family Foundation, FACEF, and both the Australian and French embassies — these works have reached one of the world’s most respected photography festivals. They aren’t tucked away on the sidelines, but form a major part of the program, with Warakurna Superheroes #1 even selected as the hero image for this year’s event. That level of visibility is significant.
For many Australian photographers, working at a distance from the traditional art centres of Europe and North America has often meant fewer opportunities to have their stories seen on such global stages. In particular, local narratives — especially those grounded in First Nations connections to Country, land and identity — haven’t always found space to be understood on their own terms. This exhibition shifts that. It shows that these perspectives are not only meaningful within Australia but also contribute to broader conversations about place, culture and shared histories.
More than a moment of recognition for the artists involved, On Country highlights how Australian photography can be part of international dialogues. It helps open up new pathways for future cultural exchange, rooted in local experience yet engaging audiences well beyond our shores.
Looking beyond Arles
On Country is more than an exhibition; it invites us to think about whose stories are being seen and heard. It also highlights that photography, at its most meaningful, goes beyond aesthetics — it’s a way to share experiences, question assumptions and build understanding across different cultures.
For Australian art, it’s an important moment. For the communities whose connections to Country are being shown, it’s another step toward stronger self-representation and cultural confidence. And for audiences in Europe, it offers a way to see Australia through perspectives that are personal, complex and deeply connected to place.
Even after the festival banners in Arles come down, this exhibition will leave an impression. It’s a reminder of how Australian artists and their stories can be part of larger conversations, anchored in local truths yet resonating far beyond them.
Exhibition details
On Country: Photography from Australia
Rencontres d’Arles Photography Festival
Église Sainte-Anne, Arles, France
7 July – 5 October 2025
Curated by Elias Redstone (PHOTO Australia Founder & Artistic Director), Kimberley Moulton (Guest Curator, Yorta Yorta), Pippa Milne and Brendan McCleary (PHOTO Australia).
Presented by PHOTO Australia in collaboration with Rencontres d’Arles, supported by the Australian Government through the International Cultural Diplomacy Arts Fund, the Bowness Family Foundation, FACEF, and the Australian and French embassies.
More information: PHOTO Australia | Rencontres d’Arles Festival
Read also: On Country: Photography from Australia, a landmark photobook on place, people and history, published by PHOTO Australia and Perimeter Editions
