The New Bathers
Date2013
Object number00055130
NamePhotograph
MediumType C print
DimensionsOverall: 775 x 930 mm
Display dimensions (Frame): 1040 x 1550 x 43 mm
Copyright© Anne Zahalka
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineANMM Collection Donation through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program from Anne Zahalka
DescriptionPhotographer Anne Zahalka's re-interpretation of the 1940 painting 'Australian Beach Pattern' by Charles Meere. The new ethnically diverse bathers are posed by Zahalka in the same composition as Meere's painting, with a painted backdrop of Bondi Beach behind them.HistoryThis photograph, 'The New Bathers', a key work Zahalka produced in the 'Bondi: Playground of the Pacific' series from 1989. In that early series Zahalka explored the role images of the beach have played in constructions of Australian identity, composing theatrical tableaux in the studio, with painted backgrounds and a cast of characters unseen in well-known paintings exploring a similar theme such Charles Meere’s 'Australian Beach Pattern'.
Using humour and parody, Zahalka has replaced Meere's idealised people with a range of body types and people from different cultural backgrounds, more accurately reflecting the multicultural nature of contemporary Australia.SignificanceThis is an important work in the lexicon of Australian beach images by one of Australia's premier artist photographers Anne Zahalka. Anne composes startling photographs as playful inquiries into ideas about cultural identity and representation, challenging photographic conventions and reinterpreting images to question stereotypes and unveil their illusory nature, historically and today.
