What inspired Rob Palmer to photograph the Faces of the Tweed?
Photographer Rob Palmer is launching his photography exhibition at M|Arts in Murwillumbah.
As part of Savour the Tweed, renowned photographer Rob Palmer is presenting an exhibition of portraits called ‘Entwined – Faces of the Tweed’.
Rob won the prestigious National Portrait Prize in 2020 and is known for his portraits of celebrity chefs. Having lived in Brunswick Heads for many years he has a genuine connection to the region.
We asked Rob about the inspiration behind his joyous collection of faces from the Tweed's culinary scene…
I’ve worked as a photographer within the food industry for more than two decades, and quite naturally, the focus is often on the dishes created by celebrated chefs. But what I’ve always loved is looking beyond the plate and telling the stories of the many other people who play such an important role in getting beautiful produce to our restaurant and home tables.
A few years ago, I was having lunch with my mate Tristan Lutze while he was reviewing a restaurant in the region for Good Food. He said to me that he thought the Northern Rivers was hard to rival as one of the most dynamic food scenes in Australia. I loved hearing that comment. This is a place where the idea of paddock to plate is genuinely part of the way people live, work and think about food.
That conversation really fired me up to get a project off the ground here, and particularly in the Tweed. Through events like Savour the Tweed, the region is embracing culinary and agritourism as a way of sharing not only its extraordinary produce, but the people, landscape and lifestyle that go with it.
So the big question for me was: what could I create, with a camera, about food that wasn’t just about the finished plate, but about the people, places and relationships behind it?
Entwined was my answer.
The name Entwined seemed to fit naturally. The Tweed is home to so many different people with producers, growers, makers and businesses that are all drawn to the region for different reasons. There’s an almost magnetic pull to this place, an energy that seems to connect everyone. What that energy actually is probably depends on who you ask… But the more time I spent photographing the project, the more apparent those connections became. In one way or another, our stories are all intertwined.
For me, the best part of a project like this is being out on the road. Being given a reason to visit places and meet people I might never otherwise have discovered. There are quirky cats hidden, and not so hidden, all around the place. Quirky in the best possible way. People with character, with stories worth hearing, and with views and ideas that sometimes align with mine, and sometimes couldn’t be further from them. Humanity at its best.
And that’s what I love about photographing people. You get invited, even if only briefly, into someone else’s world. You listen, you look, you learn something about them and their place, and hopefully you make a photograph that tells a little of that story.
For me, Entwined is a celebration of all of that. The food, the people and the landscape, but most importantly, the connections between them that make the Tweed such a special place.
I hope everybody, young and old, can come along to the exhibition. There’ll be good food and great tunes playing. We’ve got Mags (Magdalena Rose) MCing and introducing some of the legends who’ve generously allowed me into their lives to take their photos.
I hope you come for the art, but like any place where people gather, I hope you also come for the experience, and meet some of the people who make this region what it is. Not just the ones featured in the show, but all the other characters who make the Tweed such a unique place.
Have a beer (or a non-alcoholic fruity number), meet some people, enjoy the art and have a great time!
Entwined – Faces of the Tweed
M|Arts Precinct
Wednesday 21 October
5:00 - 8:00 pm
Murwillumbah
One of the joyous portraits in Rob’s exhibition, featuring Deb Allard from Cheeses Loves You.
