Axel Poignant

(England, Australia, England 1906–1986)

Title

Swagman on the road to Wilcannia, New South Wales

Other titles:

The Swagman

Year

1953
printed 1982

Media category

Photograph

Materials used

gelatin silver photograph

Dimensions

38.8 x 30.7cm image; 49.3 x 39.0cm sheet

Signature & date

Signed and dated l.r. sheet, pencil, "Axel Poignant 1953". Signed l.c. verso, ink "Axel Poignant".

Credit

Purchased 1978

Accession number

183.1978

Location

Not on display

Further information

Inspired by American rural photographs taken for the Farm Security Administration from 1937, as well as the earlier realism of new photography portraiture, Axel Poignant consciously expressed what he had to say about the subject through documentary photography. Poignant had journeyed extensively through remote areas of Australia, independently and on assignment, and undoubtedly empathised with the ‘swagman’. This image resonates with the mythology of national identity which focused on the outback, embedded in the national psyche by Banjo Paterson’s unofficial anthem ‘Waltzing Matilda’: the independent spirit facing adversity. The swag – also known as the ‘matilda’ – of rolled up blankets, was an essential item carried by itinerant workers when walking the long roads of Australia and sleeping out. Poignant recalled meeting the swagman:
The bike had no chain or pedals. He used it to carry his worldly goods – tent fly, pots and pans, tucker and water and also some books. He gave his name as George Meredith and he was making his way from Paroo to Menindie which he expected to reach months later. He didn’t go to ‘The Hill’ [Broken Hill] anymore. It was too far. We met up with him just past the Springfield Tank. 1

The photograph captures the self-reliance and dignity of a figure with the pathos of a Charlie Chaplin character. Taken from a high angle, the swagman is centrally positioned in the foreground which exaggerates the length of the road leading to a distant horizon. The image suggests that for the lone swagman the journey rather than the destination is his raison d’être as he walks on and away from the photographer.

1. Newton G 1982, ‘Axel Poignant: photographs 1922–1980’, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney/Beaver Press, Sydney

Bibliography (8)

7079 (Editor), Photography: Art Gallery of New South Wales Collection, 2007, 194, 201 (illus.).

Natasha Bullock (Australia), Australian postwar photodocumentary, Domain, 2004. no catalogue numbers

Josef Lebovic Gallery (Australia, estab. 1977) (Author), Helen Ennis (Australia) (Author), Masterpieces of Australian Photography, Sydney, 1989, 182, 183 (illus). cat.no. 325

Ursula Prunster (Australia) (Author), Seeing is believing: the art in photography, Sydney, 1985. cat.no. 35

Gael Newton (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), Hal Missingham (Australia, b.1906, d.1994) (Author), Axel Poignant Retrospective, Domain, 1982. cat.no. 74

Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), Three years on: a selection of acquisitions 1978-1981, Sydney, 1981, 80 (illus.). cat.no. 34

Gael Newton (Australia) (Author), Silver and Grey - Fifty Years of Australian Photography 1900-1950, 1980. plate no. 96

Author Unknown (Author), Photography: A Contemporary View, Sydney, 1978, 11.

Exhibition history (7)

6 Photographers, David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 30 May 1955–06 Jun 1955.

Three years on: Acquisitions 1978-81, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 Oct 1981–01 Dec 1981.

Axel Poignant: photographs 1922-1980, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Jul 1982–29 Aug 1982.

Seeing is believing - the art in photography, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Dec 1985–19 Jan 1986.

Four Photographers, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 02 Jun 1990–19 Aug 1990.

Photographs from the Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 30 Mar 1993–09 May 1993.

Australian postwar photodocumentary, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 12 Jun 2004–08 Aug 2004.