Mervyn Bishop - A Dubbo Day with Jimmy

Well known photographer Mervyn Bishop was recently awarded the respected Red Ochre Award by the Australia Council for the year 2000. It is an annual award given to an outstanding Aboriginal artist. Bishop, who currently lives and works in Dubbo, NSW, was the first Aboriginal cadet to be appointed to the Sydney Morning Herald in 1963. He worked at that newspaper for 17 years during which he was twice named news photographer of the year. Over time he built up an enormously informative body of work, a selection of which was exhibited at The Australian Centre for Photography titled In Dreams (1991). This exhibition was curated by Tracy Moffatt.

In this exhibition you will see recent images taken for the reconciliation cause. Jimmy Little sings in country halls in Dubbo to adulating female fans, Leah Purcell performs with fellow musicians with her distinctive style and flair, and there are some moving images from the large public funeral held at the Sydney Town Hall for Charles Perkins. These images are selected from Mervyn Bishop's ongoing photographic work as a testimony to his ability as a photographer to being tuned in to newsworthy events of his time while at the same time telling a broader story of his people.