Rosebud by Matthew Sleeth

Matthew Sleeth’s candid images in his Rosebud series were captured when he visited Rosebud on the Mornington Peninsula from 2002–2006, usually during the first week of January when the popularity of the foreshore was at its peak. Shot on a medium format camera, the photographs provide a rich documentation of a quintessential Australian experience: summer holidays spent camping by the beach. The photographs are bathed in the strong sunlight of Australian summers and evoke deep nostalgia for long, slow days and hot, sticky nights.

© Matthew Sleeth

‘Rosebud was the town where my family spent our summer holidays," Sleeth said. "We camped on the same site every year with the same neighbours until I was about 13, and like many things lost from childhood, the memories are still vividly clear. But the thing that always stayed with me was the light. The late afternoon light on the beach, through the trees felt endless.’

© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth
© Matthew Sleeth

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March

Canberra: 6 March – 5 April 2025. Counter-sites is an exhibition program bringing together the work of seven artists whose lens-based practices dismantle, dissect and destabilise the complex relationship between photography and place.

Melbourne: 28 March – 4 May 2025. Horan’s work thrives on contrast: the ordinary and extraordinary, rigid and fluid, playful and refined. Using materials like plastic, chrome, glass, and foodstuffs, she elevates the overlooked through precise composition and unexpected juxtapositions.

April

Sydney: 3-21 April. This exhibition celebrates our bird life of Sydney's Inner-west. A 10-year retrospective showcasing Angela Robertson-Buchanan's award-winning images as well as an insight into the tireless work wildlife carers do for our local birdlife.

Organised by the Art Gallery Society of NSW, join an eight-day study tour in April exploring ‘photography as art’ in the City of Light: with private visits to galleries, discussions with leading photography curators and more!