Following the overwhelming interest in the first public showing of The Arrival exhibition at The Royal Botanic Gardens...

Peter Elfes

The Arrival is a project by photographer Peter Elfes that documents his journey across Lake Eyre and the Tirari Desert in South Australia. It features aerial images after the 2009/10 floods that capture the abstract beauty of the Australian outback with the arrival of water into the Lake Eyre basin. There has been a tradition of artists going to Lake Eyre. John Olsen, Fred Williams, Sidney Nolan, Russell Drysdale, Tim Storrier, to name a few. Perhaps there is a resonance with one man and his interpretation of the desert country…

Following the overwhelming interest in the first public showing of The Arrival exhibition at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney in February 2011, where over 5,000 people from Australia and around the world came to view the exhibition during its three week duration, Peter will be touring The Arrival exhibition nationally and internationally in 2011 and 2012.

The Arrival exhibition features 40 unique images. This limited edition series is printed on museum grade cotton paper, using the world’s most advanced printing processes and archival pigments. Please view catalogue for more information on the printing process.

A major book on ‘The Lake Eyre Series’ by Peter Elfes is planned for mid 2012. In August this year Peter was awarded first prize in the NSW Parliamentary Plein Air Photo Prize. Peter will be exhibiting a collection of his work at Customs House in Circular Quay, from 2 February to 28 May 2012.

About the artist

Peter Elfes was born in Sydney and grew up in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst, where his father owned a photography studio. He has been a professional photographer for over thirty years, often influenced and inspired by his father, a photojournalist born in Greece.

Peter’s early work was a collaboration with many artists and costume designers which brought his creativity and artistic talents to the attention of curators and publishers nationally. As a result, his works are in private and public collections in Australia and overseas including the National Gallery of Australia, the Powerhouse Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art. His work can also be seen in many publications including books produced by the above institutions and has been recently featured by Australian Geographic.

Peter has recently been Awarded First Prize in the New South Wales Parliamentary Plein Air Photography Award 2011.