RICHARD WOLDENDORP AM

Saturday, April 19, 2025 10:00 AM 10:00
Sunday, June 8, 2025 2:00 PM 14:00

Mundaring Arts Centre 7190 Great Eastern Highway Mundaring, WA, 6073 Australia (map)

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Richard Woldendorp, *Fletchers Lake*, 2008, photograph on Kappa board, 91 x 119 cm.

RICHARD WOLDENDORP AM (1927 - 2023)

A View from Above I Celebrating 60 yrs of photography

Through the lens of his camera, Richard Woldendorp AM revealed the vast and ever-changing landscapes of Australia for over six decades. Mundaring Arts Centre Inc. (MAC Inc.) is proud to present a survey of aerial photographs, from the 1980’s to early 2000’s, that celebrate his vision for the life within the landforms, their complex patterns and breathtaking scale.

Throughout his long and distinguished career, Woldendorp cemented himself as one of Australia’s most celebrated image makers. Born in the Netherlands, he immigrated to Australia in 1951. Intrigued and inspired by the vastness and form of his adopted home, he built a practice exploring aerial landscape photography. Drawn to the abstract forms and patterns he witnessed from above, Woldendorp committed himself to arresting moments in time, exhibiting the powerful identity of Australia - its harsh and varied contrast not easily comprehended from ground level. His perception of landform abstraction and the interplay of natural and manmade compositions formed his signature style, leading to his national recognition as the forefather of aerial imagery. In 2012 he was awarded the Order of Australia “For service to the arts as an Australian landscape photographer”.

This photographic essay of Australia from the air has been selected in consultation with Woldendorp’s wife Lyn, to commemorate 2 years since his passing. Lyn and Richard’s relationship with MAC Inc. began in the 1980’s, during the organisation’s early formation. Living in the Perth Hills, they were integral to its artistic ecology, sharing their creative skills, and regularly contributing to community arts events. As a Patron and a Life Member of MAC Inc. Richard’s service to its growth still echoes in the organisation today.