On Parramatta Road by Lyndal Irons

Lyndal Irons documents and preserves Australia’s first highway, a stretch perpetually threatened by change. It is a field study of life on a road considered dead, across car yards, brothels, bed shops and around 20 suburbs of greater Sydney. “I aim to restore a sense of journey to a road better known for daily transit," Irons says. "Part documentary photography and part road trip, my series preserves today's road for future reference and encourages a deepened experience of everyday life.”

Danny, a salesman and yard hand at RA Motors, Granville. © Lyndal Irons.
Danny, a salesman and yard hand at RA Motors, Granville. © Lyndal Irons.

On Parramatta Road is a long-term project, consisting of work previously recognised as a finalist in numerous photographic prizes, including the Australian Life Photographic Prize (2011, 2012) and the Bowness Prize (2015). This series received the 2015 Pool Grant worth $10,000.

Exhibition times

7am – 8pm Weekdays

8am – 4pm Weekends

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

May

Melbourne: Until March 2027. Rehearsing the City presents archival photographs from Victoria’s government collections, alongside new work by contemporary street photographers.

June

Sydney: Until 7 Feb 2027. From his archive of more than 200,000 images, Close Up celebrates the historic moments and pivotal people he famously captured.

Brisbane: until 18 October 2026. Known affectionately as the ‘Cool Cat of journalism’ Wayne moved effortlessly among the greats, between the media and community, treating every encounter as part of his day’s work behind the lens.

August

Melbourne: Until 15 November 2026. This exhibition will present the most comprehensive survey of the work of the eminent Hungarian-born, French photographer Brassaï yet to be seen in Australia.

Sydney: 24 August 2026 – 18 July 2027. Featuring almost 200 images and original prints personally selected by Dupain for magazine and book publishers, the exhibition reveals the extraordinary breadth of his work.

September

Melbourne: Until 19 February 2027. Spanning 55 years from 1971, Chapman’s visual journey began aboard the ‘Green Bus’ from Elsternwick to Melbourne’s city centre – chronicling the evolution of Australian life along the way.

Melbourne: Multiple exhibitions including – Bowness Photography Prize 2026 + Sarah Rhodes | The Inner Sky. Both until 8 November 2026.

October

Perth: Until 31 January 2027. The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) presents No night is long enough for us to dream twice, a major exhibition of contemporary photography and video, bringing together more than 100 works by seven living artists and one artist duo from across South West Asia, North Africa and its many diasporas.

Sydney: Until 17 October 2026. Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery.

Sydney: 10 October – 14 November 2026. Metropolis: Street Photography 1985–2025 displays over four decades of life within the modern human environment. The work transitions from the tough, film-noir streets of 1980’s New York to the time surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall – to the modern colour saturated, hard-shadowed geometry of contemporary Australian streets.