Melbourne : Manifesto
This exhibition invites viewers to experience Melbourne through the eyes of twenty of history’s most influential photographers.
Photographer Greg Branson re-imagines the city by creating one photograph for each of these masters — each image inspired by their distinctive style, vision, and philosophy.
From the evocative, soft-focus sensibility of Alfred Stieglitz’s pictorialism to the raw immediacy of Daidō Moriyama’s streets, Branson translates their creative essence into Melbourne’s urban language.
Through this series, familiar landmarks such as the National Gallery of Victoria, Queen Victoria Market, and the city’s vibrant dining culture are transformed into scenes of reflection, geometry, and emotion.
These works are not pastiche but homage; each print a study in how vision, temperament, and philosophy shape what we see. Together, they form a collective portrait of Melbourne as muse: restless, reflective, and endlessly photogenic.
All work has been shot on analogue cameras, processed and hand silver gelatin printed by Greg Branson.
Pictoralism (1890-1915)
Pictorialism sought to establish photography as fine art by imitating painting and printmaking. Photographers used soft focus, manipulation, and atmospheric effects to create expressive, symbolic images. The movement prioritised beauty, mood, and craftsmanship, helping legitimise photography culturally.
Alfred Stieglitz (1864 - 1946)
American photographer and promoter of art, Stieglitz championed photography as a fine art through galleries and publications.
He photographed New York usually in poor weather, recording the newly built Flatiron building in 1903; the tallest building north of 14th street. His work and advocacy elevated photography’s cultural status.
The image
Australia 108 is a 100-story, residential skyscraper in Southbank, Melbourne; the tallest residential tower in the Southern Hemisphere. It features a distinctive golden “Starburst” structure with 1,105 luxury apartments. Treated in a style similar that that used by Alfred.
Kate Matthews
American photographer Kate Matthews (1870–1956) documented rural Arkansas life with sensitivity and realism. Working outside major art centres, she captured everyday Southern culture. Her importance lies in preserving regional identity and demonstrating how intimate, community-based photography contributes to broader documentary traditions.
The image
Lincoln Square in Carlton, Melbourne, is historically significant as the site of Victoria's first public playground, established in 1907 after public outcry over restricted access, Exactly the community based photography that Kate would take.
Melbourne 108
Lincoln Square Park
Straight photography (1915–1930s)
Straight photography rejected pictorialism’s manipulation, embracing sharp focus, clarity, and detail. Influenced by modernism, photographers emphasised form, geometry, and the inherent qualities of the medium. The movement established photography as an independent art form, grounded in precision, realism, and a direct engagement with the visible world.
Imogen Cunningham
Imogen Cunningham (1883–1976) was a key member of Group f/64, known for sharp-focus botanical studies and portraits. Her work combined precision with sensuality. She helped define modernist photography in America, emphasising clarity, form, and the expressive potential of everyday natural subjects.
The image
Sharp focus isolates the solitary figure at the Queen Victoria Market, transforming everyday movement into form. Like Cunningham, clarity and tonal precision reveal quiet sensuality and structure within ordinary urban life.
Paul Strand
Paul Strand (1890–1976) pioneered modernist photography with abstract compositions and direct street portraits. Influenced by Stieglitz, he moved photography toward realism and social engagement. His work bridged art and documentary, shaping photographic language through clarity, structure, and respect for subjects
The image
Strong geometry and stark contrast reduce the Yarra River, Flinders Walk, Southbank scene to structure. Like Strand, clarity and abstraction merge, transforming an ordinary urban scene into a precise, modernist composition.
Queen Victoria Market
Yarra River Southbank
Bauhaus / new vision (1920s–1930s)
Developed within the Bauhaus, New Vision photography embraced experimentation, unusual perspectives, photomontage, and abstraction. It aligned photography with modern design and industry, exploring light, form, and technology. The movement redefined visual communication, influencing graphic design, architecture, and photographic education globally.
Germaine Krull
Germaine Krull (1897–1985) was an experimental photographer associated with European modernism. She explored industrial forms, urban life, and photobooks. Her dynamic angles and unconventional compositions expanded photographic possibilities, influencing avant-garde approaches and demonstrating photography’s role in modern visual culture.
The image
Dynamic angles and intersecting structures transform the Arts Centre into industrial form. Like Krull, unconventional perspective and energy elevate architecture into a bold, modernist vision of the city.
Man Ray
Man Ray (1890–1976), a leading Dada and Surrealist artist, used photography experimentally through techniques like rayographs. His work blurred boundaries between photography and art. He expanded the medium’s conceptual potential, showing it could move beyond documentation into abstraction and imagination.
The image
Film becomes light and abstraction, dissolving narrative into form. Like Man Ray, experimental process transforms ACMI into a surreal composition where photography shifts from documentation to imagination.
Queen Victoria Market
Yarra River Southbank