Kimberley Wall Art
Fifty two prints from the far north of Western Australia, which makes the Kimberley the deepest single region in this catalogue after the Central Coast. Sandstone, tidal coast, waterfalls and boabs, photographed across the dry season months when the country is reachable at all.
A landscape with a closing date
The Kimberley is only open for part of the year. The wet shuts the roads, the rivers run, and access to most of what is photographed here disappears until the country dries out again. Every image in this collection was made inside that window, which is part of why the region rewards returning rather than visiting.
The gorges and the falls
Water cutting through sandstone is the recurring subject. Mitchell Falls, Kimberley, WA and Dawn of Creation, Mitchell Falls, WA treat the same falls system differently, one as structure and one as light. King George Falls, Kimberley, WA and Satin Waters, King George Falls, WA cover the twin falls on the north coast. Manning Gorge, Kimberley, WA, Bell Gorge Falls, Kimberley, WA and Heavenly Treasure, Dimond Gorge, WA work the inland gorges, and Ancient Land, Geikie Gorge, WA and Fitzroy River, Geikie Gorge, WA follow the Fitzroy.
The Bungle Bungles
Purnululu has its own group. Between the Domes, Bungle Bungles, WA and Piccaninny Creek, Bungle Bungles, WA are ground level. Full Moon, Bungle Bungles, WA and Walkabout Purnululu National Park, WA change the hour and the vantage point. Purnululu Reflections, WA puts the banded domes over still water.
The coast and the pearling towns
The Kimberley coast is tidal on a scale that does not photograph like ordinary coastline. Distant Horizon Montgomery Reef, WA and Ocean River Montgomery Reef were made where the reef drains. Cape Leveque, WA and Ochre Cliffs, Cape Leveque, WA carry the red cliff against white sand that the peninsula is known for. Streeters Wharf, Broome, WA and Camel Sunset Cable Beach, Broome, WA come from Broome itself.
Boabs
Kimberley Boab, WA, Kimberley Boabs, WA and Tree of Life, Kimberley, WA treat the boab as a subject in its own right rather than as foreground. These are the images that work best in a square or vertical frame.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Kimberley print is the most recognisable?
Mitchell Falls and the Bungle Bungles are the two subjects most people know by sight. Mitchell Falls, Kimberley, WA and Between the Domes, Bungle Bungles, WA are the clearest treatments of each.
Why does the Kimberley suit panoramic format?
The country is horizontal. Escarpment, tidal flat and river all run across the frame rather than up it, so a wide format gives the landform room to read as scale rather than as a close up. The boab images are the exception and work well square or vertical.
When is the Kimberley accessible?
In the dry season. Roads, river crossings and gorge access close through the wet, so the country in these photographs is dry season country: hard light, low water and the deep red the region is known for. It is why the Kimberley images share a palette that the Top End work, made on full floodplains, does not.
How is the Kimberley work different from the rest of the Western Australia collection?
Scale, mostly. The south west images are green and close in. The Kimberley work is the opposite: Bell Gorge Falls, Kimberley, WA, Beyond the Veil, Mitchell Falls, WA and Dawn of Creation, Mitchell Falls, WA are all water falling through open rock, and Ancient Land, Geikie Gorge, WA and Art of the Ages, Geikie Gorge, WA are walls of it. Full Moon, Bungle Bungles, WA is the widest piece in the group. These hang best on a large uninterrupted wall.