Trent Mitchell, from the series Australian Lustre, 2024. Courtesy the artist.
Announcing Australian Lustre by Trent Mitchell – an exhibition at the Australian Embassy in Paris
13.6.25
Trent Mitchell’s iconic roadtrip series makes a stop in Paris for its first-ever exhibition showing.
June 2025
PHOTO Australia in partnership with the Australian Embassy in Paris is pleased to announce Australian Lustre, a solo exhibition by Australian photographer Trent Mitchell.
Australian Lustre is a dreamlike odyssey through the vastness of the Australian landscape, where memory and myth merge in the sparkling heat. Inspired by the road trips of his childhood, Trent Mitchell’s work captures the golden glow of endless summers: dusty roads, remnants of gas stations, and the monumental presence of the “Big Things” that dot the continent.
A unique phenomenon of the Australian landscape, the “Big Things” — oversized sculptures such as Big Prawn and Big Koala — have become cultural icons, crystallising a collective imagination. These extravagant monuments, sentinels of a bygone era, stand proudly on the side of the road, where childlike wonder mingles with sweet nostalgia.
Both cinematic and surreal, Mitchell’s photographs retrace a fifteen-year journey in which each image becomes a fragment of memory. Through the artist’s lens, ordinary landscapes are transformed into fantastical ones, freezing small towns at the crossroads of past and present, where memories mingle with dreams, creating a strange poetry in the Australian landscape.
Originally published as a photobook — now in its sold-out first edition — Australian Lustre is available to pre-order in a second edition via the artist’s website.
Open throughout the Parisian summer until 5 October, the exhibition continues PHOTO Australia’s commitment to presenting Australian photographic talent on the global stage.
The Australian Lustre exhibition follows PHOTO Australia’s recent announcement of On Country: Photography from Australia, the first major exhibition of Australian photography at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in France opening July 2025.
Australian Lustre Exhibition details:
The Australian Embassy in Paris
4 Rue Jean Rey, 75015 Paris, France
Artistic Director: Elias Redstone
Curator: Brendan McCleary
Presented by PHOTO Australia
Supported by the Australian Embassy in Paris as part of the France-Australia Cultural Initiative
Exhibition Printing by Fini Frames
Read our recent Book Club interview with Trent Mitchell.
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For media enquiries, contact info@photo.org.au.
