In a New Light is an ambitious exhibition, the first to extensively
explore the National Library of Australia’s massive photography
holdings in the Pictures Collection, now numbering more than 600
000 images. Many of the photographs on display have not been previously
exhibited or published.
The exhibition is concerned with the interconnections between photography,
history and the National Library’s Pictures Collection. It
aims to create multi-layered narratives about aspects of life in
Australia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
The photographs deal with the diverse range of human activity associated
with the colonisation of Australia, and include images of important
events, occasions, and people. Also represented are places such
as Gallipoli and Antarctica, which have played a key role in Australians’
geographical imaginings.
Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander
and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains
images and names of deceased
persons. Titles have been transcribed from original items and
reflect attitudes of the time.