New exhibition celebrates Richard Woldendorp's Australian aerials
Through his camera lens, Richard Woldendorp AM (1927- 2023) revealed the vast and ever-changing landscapes of Australia for over six decades.
Now, a new exhibition at Mundaring Arts Centre in WA (MAC Inc.) seeks to celebrate his long and storied career when it opens next week.
Born in the Netherlands, Waldendorp immigrated to Australia in 1951. Intrigued and inspired by the vastness and form of his adopted home, he built a practice exploring aerial landscape photography.
Drawn to the abstract forms and patterns he witnessed from above, Woldendorp committed himself to arresting moments in time, exhibiting the powerful identity of Australia - its harsh and varied contrast not easily comprehended from ground level.
His perception of landform abstraction and the interplay of natural and manmade compositions formed his signature style, leading to his national recognition as the forefather of aerial imagery.
In 2012 he was awarded the Order of Australia for service to the arts as an Australian landscape photographer.
The new exhibition, A View from Above, which runs from 19 April until 8 June, has been selected in consultation with Woldendorp’s wife Lyn, to commemorate two years since his passing.
The exhibition features key works from his 2013 publication, Out of the Blue, taken over several decades, along with other works that encapsulate the vast scope and breadth of Woldendorp’s practice.