Award winning photographer Matt Irwin’s love and vision of Sydney prompted him to visually document the evolution of Sydney into the city it has become – one of the most iconic cities in the world.
From 1992 he photographed Sydney and watched it grow and change, capturing the evolution of its progress through his lens.
According to Matt, much of our impression of the world is through our eyes. What we can see and feel. Sydney is a visual feast – It truly is a photographer’s dreamscape. It offers rugged geography, globally recognised icons and street-level authenticity – all encapsulated together with good weather conditions and a life so well lived.
The goal of Irwin’s book was to capture all these elements. His photographic adventure spanning 25 years in the making is a curated collection of the epic to the hidden, from the natural to the built, from every day to the one-off.
A veteran photographer, he chases the elusive moods interacting with light to capture the perfect photographic moment.
On Wednesday 8 August, Sydney City Councillor Christine Forster officially launched Matt Irwin’s photographic exhibition and large format book, “Sydney A love Affair” at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth.
Sydney’s first 5-star hotel will host a free photo exhibition in its main foyer showcasing 29 spectacular framed images of Irwin’s newly released book capturing the excitement and wonder of Australia’s iconic harbour city.
As Barry Jones comments in the forward of this book “In my experience, the greatest harbour locations for cities are Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Venice, Istanbul and Hong Kong, and in that order. Of course, San Francisco, Auckland, Hobart, Vancouver, Seattle, Buenos Aires and Athens are also spectacular too.
Matt’s book confirms the excitement that Australians generally experience when they arrive in Sydney, myself included – The Sydney Harbour bridge and Opera house at any time of the day or night, the incomparable beaches of Bondi and Manly, the coves of Mosman, waves crashing on rocks at North Head, the ferries, architectural survivals from the time of Queen Victoria, light shows, spectacular colour, and emotional black and white.
Irwin transports you through time and change – observing Darling Harbour growing into its own world class arts and conference precinct, the Sydney trams of old returning as light rail.
This hard cover photographic art coffee table book published by Wilkinson Publishing is almost 80cm wide when opened, showcasing the magnificence of Sydney’s natural and built landscape with 200 images in 172 pages – the perfect companion to Melbourne : A love Affair, Matt’s first book that came out a few years ago.
The photographic exhibition SYDNEY A love Affair is open to the public and may be seen at Sofitel Sydney Wentworth’s main foyer 61-101 Phillip Street Sydney. It runs through until the end of August.
Featured image – Max Markson, Matt Irwin, Sydney City Councillor Christine Forster and Philip Logan, Sofitel Wentworth General Manager. Pics by Denver Mottau.