Arts and Design

Oculi: the photography collective's startling vision of Australian life – in pictures


Twenty years ago, a brief encounter on Sydney’s Market Street between designer Bill Farmer and a photojournalist Rick Stevens led to the formation of Oculi, one of Australia’s most enduring and successful photographic collectives.

Born out of a collective discontent with Australian mainstream media’s seeming indifference to the shifting landscape of global photographic practice, the group of former and current press photographers who cut their teeth largely across Sydney’s metropolitan mastheads of the 1990s wanted to agitate for a more sophisticated visual language and share a fresh Australian narrative with the world.

Stephanie Coombes, watching a mob of cattle moving into the yards at Bulka Station, WA. June 2018



  • Stephanie Coombes watches a mob of cattle move into the yards at Bulka Station, Western Australia, June 2018. Photograph: Matthew Abbott

For previous generations of photographers, lengthy and costly sojourns across the Atlantic were vital for building contacts and show portfolios. But for the newly formed Oculi, whose inception coincided with the awakening of the internet, members were capable of transferring their works and portfolios onto the desktops of international photo editors in real time, and into all corners of the world.

Amira Jos Akech gives a powerful speech at a candlelight vigil in Mount Druit. Members of the South Sudanese community gathered at the site where Teddy Gak was found murdered by another young man. Amira fought back tears as she asked ‘how many more of our brothers have to die?’



Oculi in its formative years would lay the groundwork for a lasting international reputation as a progressive, trustworthy and ethical source of documentary photography from Australia and the region. Past members such as Raphaela Rosella, Jesse Marlow, Narelle Autio and Tamara Dean achieved significant accolades for their work, Trent Parke became a member of Magnum Photos and Oculi members have held awards such as the World Press Photo, POTY, the Moran contemporary photography prize, National photographic portrait prize, and the William and Winifred Bowness prize for photography in their hands.

Around-the-clock food delivery workers Eboni Cattley and her husband Wade in Engadine, NSW



For me, it’s not so much the accolades that Oculi has collectively accrued that defines its achievements but the bearing of witness to the growth and maturity of our photographers, both past and present. Our philosophical approach to the ongoing recruitment of emergent and dynamic young photographers into our ranks has reflected more broadly on the collective as a whole.

Billy and Cooper from ongoing series The Bend.



The build-up, 2019.



To mark Oculi’s 20th anniversary, it has expanded its ranks to include nine Australian and Australia-based visual storytellers: Mridula Amin, Conor Ashleigh and Meg Hewitt from Sydney, James Bugg, Tajette O’Halloran and Abigail Varneyin Melbourne, Rachel Mounsey in Mallacoota, and Dr Judith Crispin and photographic duo Kenton/Davey (Aishah Kenton and Sean Davey) from Canberra.

‘Together apart’ from ‘In Australia’.



The new members reflect a dynamic and diverse group of photographers, comprising a mix of emerging and mid-career image makers with talent, vision and energy.

Lumachrome glass print, cliche-verre, chemigram. Road-killed adolescent red fox, dandelion seeds and sand on fibre paper. Exposed 36 hours under marked perspex in a geodesic dome.



  • Clockwise from top: A lumachrome glass print of a road-killed adolescent red fox. Photograph: Dr Judith Nangala. Crispin, Steak and Kidney, a new series about the people of inner city Sydney. Photograph: Meg Hewitt. Untitled from To Whom It May Concern, 2018. Photograph: Aishah Kenton

Untitled from ‘To Whom It May Concern’ (2018)



Steak and Kidney, a new series about the people of inner city Sydney.



The “desire to belong” that is one of the greatest driving forces behind Oculi’s longevity. While the role of the photojournalist, documentary photographer or photographer on a whole has often been referred to throughout history as an “individualistic” pursuit, it is somewhat of a myth. Sure, when out in the field, it can be lonely or isolating at times but it is often within the identity structure of a collective that its individuals seek counsel, share ideas and pull each other forward of great benefit to the group, the individual, and the broader landscape of Australian visual storytelling.

The new Oculi members join current members David Maurice Smith, Tamara Voninski, Alana Holmberg, Jeremy Piper, Matthew Abbott, Nick Moir, James Brickwood, George Voulgaropoulos and Dean Sewell.

Past members include: Narelle Autio, Warren Clarke, Nick Cubbin, Glenn Hunt,Trent Parke, Tamara Dean, Jesse Marlow, Steven Siewert, Lee Grant, Claire Martin, Andrew Quilty, Donna Bailey, John Feely and Raphaela Rosella.

Dean Sewell is one of the co-founders of Oculi



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