Hoppé’s Australia: Photographs from the Oroton Collection

Within this evocative selection of photographs, from a most extraordinary private archive, we see Hoppé’s vintage print of three Aboriginal women dressed in European clothes studying a film poster at Hermannsburg Mission. This print captures the incongruity of life for many First Nations people in 1930; dressed for a new world; considering its popular culture from a palpable distance. Then we have photographs of traditionally dressed men, devoid of social judgment, or the early tendency to exoticise. We also see traditional men painted for ceremony, but instead playing football. A joyous performance; but not for the camera. Hoppé’s unsentimental humanity is a unifying theme in this exhibition.
With an $70,000 prize pool, it represents a global selection of the best work from emerging and established photographers.
The Head On Photo Awards offer a $80,000 prize pool. It represents a global selection of the best work from emerging and established photographers.