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Title
Migrants arriving in Sydney
1966, printed later
Artist
David Moore
Australia
06 Apr 1927 - 23 Jan 2003
About
In this evocative image Moore condenses the anticipation and apprehension of immigrants into a tight frame as they arrive in Australia to begin a new life. The generational mix suggests family reconnections or individual courage as each face displays a different emotion.
Moore’s first colour image ‘Faces mirroring their expectations of life in the land down under, passengers crowd the rail of the liner Galileo Galilei in Sydney Harbour ‘was published in ‘National Geographic’ in 1967.1 In that photograph the figures are positioned less formally and look cheerful. But it is this second image, probably taken seconds later, which Moore printed in black-and-white, that has become symbolic of national identity as it represents a time when Australia’s rapidly developing industrialised economy addressed its labour shortage through immigration. The strength of the horizontal composition of cropped figures underpinned by the ship’s rail is dramatised by the central figure raising her hand – an ambiguous gesture either reaching for a future or reconnecting with family. The complexity of the subject and the narrative the image implies ensured its public success, which resulted in a deconstruction of the original title, ‘European migrants’, by the passengers, four of whom it later emerged were Sydneysiders returning from holiday, alongside two migrants from Egypt and Lebanon.2 Unintentionally Moore’s iconic image has become an ‘historical fiction’, yet the passengers continue to represent an evolving Australian identity in relation to immigration.
1. Max Dupain and associates: www.mdaa.com.au/people/moore-05.php. Accessed 17.06.2006
2. Thomas D & Sayers A 2000, ‘From face to face: portraits by David Moore’, Chapter & Verse, Sydney
© Art Gallery of New South Wales Photography Collection Handbook, 2007
Details
Date
1966, printed later
Materials used
gelatin silver photograph
Dimensions
30.2 x 43.5 cm image; 35.7 x 47.0 cm sheet
Signature & date
Signed and dated l.centre verso, pencil "... 1966 David Moore".
Credit
Gift of the artist 1997
Location
Not on display
Accession number
429.1997
Shown in 6 exhibitions
Exhibition history
David Moore Retrospective 1940-1976., Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington, 08 Jun 1976–03 Jul 1976
David Moore A Survey., Christine Abrahams Gallery, Richmond, 28 Apr 1990–17 May 1990
David Moore 1927-2003 - Photographs from the Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Feb 2003–16 Mar 2003
Australian postwar photodocumentary, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 12 Jun 2004–08 Aug 2004
Great collections (2009), Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat, 24 Jul 2009–30 Aug 2009
The photograph and Australia:
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 21 Mar 2015–08 Jun 2015
- Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane 04 Jul 2015–11 Oct 2015
Referenced in 10 publications
Bibliography
Georgina Cole, Look, 'Australian photographs past and present: What they say about the people and the country', pg. 26-30, Sydney, Mar 2015, 30 (illus.).
Bruce James, Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, 'Australian Collection: Australian Photography', pg. 198-207, Sydney, 1999, 205 (illus.).
Gael Newton, Federation: Australian art and society 1901-2001, 'Migrants', pg. 189, Canberra, 2000, 188 (colour illus.), 189. not AGNSW print
Rose Peel, Photography: Art Gallery of New South Wales Collection, 'Australian postwar photo-documentary', pg.189-207, Sydney, 2007, 194, 204 (illus.).
Great collections, Sydney, 2008, 102 (colour illus.).
The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 06 Nov 1993, 12 (illus.).
Gael Newton, Shades of Light - Photography and Australia 1839-1988, Sydney, 1988, 129 (illus.).
David Moore: Australian Photographer Vol 1, McMahons Point, 1988, 123 (illus.).
The photograph and Australia, Sydney, Jun 2015, 105 (colour illus.).
Australian postwar photodocumentary, Sydney, 2004. no catalogue numbers