Spotlight on stoke at Noosa Regional Gallery

Sunbathers, swimmers, surfers and surf life savers star in a new travelling photography exhibition currently on show at Noosa Regional Gallery.

Paired with the 25 Years of Pure Stoke Noosa Festival of Surfing Jubilee exhibition at the gallery in March, Waves & Water – Australian beach photography features 35 images reflecting on our beach culture of the past 80 years.

The exhibition, which runs until 1 May, features the works of seven leading Australian photographers including Max Dupain, Ray Leighton, Jeff Carter and Roger Scott.

With imagery celebrating Australian beach culture, Waves and Water also presents works that question the stereotypes.

“Anna Zahalka’s playful reinterpretations of classic beach photographs and paintings feature images of pale-skinned, red-haired people sunbaking and burqa-clad swimmers, a striking comparison to the bronzed longboarders of 1938 in Ray Leighton’s Boys and their Boards,” says Gallery Director Nina Shadforth.

“I am really excited for the gallery to be hosting two exhibitions that celebrate such an iconic part of Australian social heritage and beach culture from two perspectives: a local connection with the Noosa Festival of Surfing through a display of the Festival’s archives and, on a national level, representing Australian artists using photography as visual devices to record and re-interpret history.”

25 Years of Pure Stoke Noosa Festival of Surfing Jubilee and the Australian National Maritime Museum Waves and Water exhibitions run until Sunday, May 1.

Noosa Festival of Surfing collectables, including signed copies of books by Phil Jarratt and surfboard design great Bob McTavish, are currently on sale at the Noosa Regional Gallery shop.

For more information, visit Noosa Regional Gallery's website.

17 March 2016