The NORTH & WEST exhibition showcases the social documentary work of Paul J Ryan's extended assignments in northern Australia. From the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the Top End and Centralia regions in the Northern Territory to the east coast's rich concentration of Queensland cattle country supply chain. Over 100,000 kilometres were travelled through the 1980's and 90's to create this contemporary masterwork with roots going back to palaeolithic rock art depicting wild cow-like creatures in ochre on the limestone walls of caves of Borneo, Spain and France.
The projects embraced the stories and people in small towns and family cattle stations, annual agricultural shows and side show alley, special events such as endurance rides and bush turnouts, rodeos and bull sales, following the seasons and embedded in slaughter houses, droving routes, mustering, yarding and trucking and searching for the unique qualities of rural life where floods and droughts are a world away from metropolitan urban living.
Over 20,000 photographs were compiled in this making of an Australian story and although the work was 'stranded' for some time, the 'unseen' photographs were recorded on wonderful Kodachrome film as part of the Cattle Life Project and the Heartland Series conducted in Central Queensland.
and great care has been taken to conserve and digitise the extensive archive and collection. Both undertakings pioneered large scale citizen commissioning where extensive community consultation
