Stargazing

Image: David Stephenson – Star Drawing 1996/906
Image: David Stephenson – Star Drawing 1996/906
Stargazing brings together a selection of contemporary photographs that guide us towards the stars, the planets and celestial spaces in poetic, experimental, playful, conceptual, and often quite abstract ways.

Through a variety of photographic processes and experimental techniques, often incorporating analogue technologies or archival imagery, the artists in this exhibition evoke, transform and play with celestial scenes. They delve into ideas about the universe and our place within it, challenging expectations of photography to explore the cosmos from felt, imagined and self-referential perspectives. While alluding to realms that exist beyond Earth’s surface, these artists encourage us to reflect on themes that remain tightly connected to human experience and the planet in which we live. These include environmental issues, interconnectedness, identity, spirituality, time, memory, mortality and the nature of photography itself.

Showing works from MAPh’s significant collection of Australian photographs alongside loans from artists, Stargazing features work by Amos Gebhardt, Michaela Gleave, Anna Higgins, Harry Nankin, Trent Parke, Luke Parker, Patrick Pound, Michael Riley, Kate Robertson, David Stephenson, Christian Thompson, Zan Wimberley and Jemima Wyman.

Curator | Stella Loftus-Hills, MAPh Curator

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

July

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

November

Canberra: Until 1 March 2026. Women photographers 1853–2018 highlights the transformative impact of women artists on the history of photography.

Sydney: Until 11 April. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia.

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

December

Sydney: 4 Dec – 30 Jan 2026. The project brings together around 70 images over 50 metres of wall space, profiling a wide spectrum of practical action on climate

February

Perth: 1 Feb – 1 March 2026. Head On Photo Festival is expanding its footprint to Western Australia, with an outdoor and indoor festival program running from Sunday 1 February to Sunday 1 March 2026.