Horsham revisited: Photographs by John Immig from his 2003 series On the land – off the land

Born in Amsterdam, but based in Sydney for much of his life, John Immig (1935-2018), was a photojournalist and documentarian. His photographs have been frequently published in magazines and exhibited in galleries in Australia and overseas.

In 2003, Immig visited our region during an exhibition of his photographic series Eye witness (4 March – 4 May 2003) at Horsham Regional Art Gallery. Creatively activated by the community and landscape around him, Immig produced a new documentary series of photographs of Horsham and its inhabitants: On the land – off the land which was ultimately displayed at Horsham Regional Art Gallery in an exhibition of the same name in 2004.

Of the thirty-five photographs from the exhibition, twenty-two were acquired for the Horsham Regional Art Gallery collection. The suite provides a snapshot of the people, industry and landscape of this unique part of Victoria just as it was twenty years ago.

Immig had an eye for the uncommon and an ability to capture non-choreographed images of life’s struggle, but also of sincerity, pleasure and connection. On the land – off the land insightfully crystalises moments of everyday life in Horsham and surrounds as a time capsule for current day audiences.

John Immig’s photographic oeuvre collates a realistic and revealing picture of Australia’s ever-changing multicultural and diverse society over decades. One series, The avenue (79-91) revisited the same private homes in Queensland over several years, which Immig described as a fascinating exercise in an everchanging environment. His works have been keenly collected by numerous institutions throughout Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, the National Library of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.

[I] cannot fail but to observe and feel what is taking place around me.
John Immig

Image: John IMMIG, The Wool Factory, Horsham, from the series On the land – off the land  2003, silver gelatin photograph, 22 x 32.5cm.  2005-47, Horsham Regional Art Gallery Collection, gift of the artist, 2005