Brewarrina’s Mervyn Bishop celebrated in Sydney exhibition

Story: Kristin Murdock kmurdock@outbackradio.com.au

One of Brewarrina’s most celebrated sons, pioneering Aboriginal photographer Mervyn Bishop, has been honoured in a major exhibition at the State Library of NSW, shining a light on a career that has helped shape how Australia sees itself.

Titled Mervyn Bishop: Close Up, the exhibition draws from an archive of more than 200,000 photographs - a landmark recent addition to the State Library of NSW’s collection - offering a deeply personal insight into Mervyn’s life and his legacy as Australia’s foremost Aboriginal press photographer.

Born in Brewarrina in 1945, Mr Bishop’s journey into photography began early, inspired by his mother Marjorie. By the age of 16, he was already buying his own cameras and developing his craft, a passion that would take him from the banks of the Barwon River to the national stage.

Brewarrina historian Kaye Schofield said Mr Bishop’s work is not only widely recognised but deeply embedded in Australia’s visual history. […]

Mervyn Bishop at an exhibition of his works at Brewarrina in 2022, with Vivian Slack-Smith and Lily Shearer. Photo Ethan Johnson Memories of Brewarrina