The Museum of Brisbane’s Elliott Collection consists of the work of an amateur photographer, Alfred Henrie Elliott (1870—1954), who captured a bygone era of 19th and 20th century Brisbane. The collection was discovered in 1983 and donated to the City of Brisbane Collection, and is now on display in New Light: Photography Now + Then.
Alongside Elliott’s photographs are seven newly commissioned artworks by Brisbane creatives offering a fresh perspective on the historical images—Marian Drew, Jo-Anne Driessens, Joachim Froese, Tammy Law, Carl Warner, Nina White and Keemon Williams.
The seven artists will be “responding to the incredible source material that is the Elliott Collection, while also reflecting on the biases and ambiguities found within the archive,” says exhibition curator Elena Dias-Jayasinha. “By layering their own perspectives, knowledge and experiences onto the collection, the artists will encourage new ways of looking at our past, our present and this place.”
View, in pictures, this conversation between past and present.
Alfred Henrie Elliott image from The Elliott Collection.
Artist Joachim Froese. New Light Photography Now + Then at Museum of Brisbane, 2024. Photo by Katie Bennett.
Alfred Henrie Elliott image from The Elliott Collection.
Artist Carl Warner. New Light Photography Now + Then at Museum of Brisbane, 2024. Photo by Katie Bennett.
Alfred Henrie Elliott image from The Elliott Collection.
Artist Nina White. New Light Photography Now + Then at Museum of Brisbane, 2024. Photo by Katie Bennett.
Artist Tammy Law. New Light Photography Now + Then at Museum of Brisbane, 2024. Photo by Katie Bennett.
Alfred Henrie Elliott image from The Elliott Collection.
Artist Marian Drew. New Light Photography Now + Then at Museum of Brisbane, 2024. Photo by Katie Bennett.
Artist Jo-Anne Driessens. New Light Photography Now + Then at Museum of Brisbane, 2024. Photo by Katie Bennett.
New Light: Photography Now + Then
Museum of Brisbane
On now—13 July 2025
Suggested Reading
65,000 Years brings truth telling to art history
65,000 Years: A Short History of Australian Art is an extraordinary account of the unique art of this continent, published alongside a landmark exhibition at the Potter Museum of Art. Necessary and urgent, it tells the story of Indigenous Australian art; a new art history unlike anything we’ve seen. For Jane O’Sullivan, it’s a remarkable and must-read book.
Jane O'Sullivan
Oslo Davis reimagines art terms
In a new series of illustrated postcards available as a free gift with purchase only at the Art Guide Bookstore, Oslo Davis takes on classic and contemporary art terms and genres and reimagines what they could be referring to.
Oslo Davis
The major exhibitions open in each capital city this summer
With so much to choose from, we’ve rounded up the major summer exhibitions in each capital city, open all summer long. Spanning Yayoi Kusama, Magritte, the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, and many more.
Art Guide Australia
The art books we loved in 2024
Whether looking for the perfect Christmas gift or searching for a summer read, we have selected some of our favourite art books of 2024—spanning everything from comprehensive gallery monographs to notable exhibition catalogues and self-published artist books.
Art Guide Australia
A stitch in time
Radical Textiles, A new exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia, shows us how textiles evoke material memories while keeping the radical lineage of needle and thread alive.
Briony Downes
Lindy Lee is keeping faith
With a 50-year practice exploring her Chinese heritage, longing and belonging, Zen spiritualism and the endless nature of being, Lindy Lee is now unveiling the pinnacle of her art.