Joseph McGlennon’s photographic works are majestic recreations of animals in their natural habitats – the first kangaroos to be seen by European eyes, parrots perching on a branch surrounded by exotic blooms, the extinct Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) fresh from killing its prey. McGlennon’s lens brings his subjects out of the realm of exotic specimen or historical curiosity and pushes them, living and breathing, into today.
McGlennon takes hundreds of different photographs and spends weeks layering and arranging them to arrive at the final image. The landscape is as important as the animal itself – there are no blurred backgrounds or subdued foregrounds in McGlennon’s montages. The inclusion of every detail creates a hyper-real effect that pulls the viewer into contact with the flora and fauna that the planet stands to lose.
Joseph McGlennon came to photography following a successful career in advertising. He won the 2015 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize for Florilegium #1, his picture of two parrots perched on tropical foliage, inspired by Joseph Banks’ botanical drawings. He was also a finalist in the Doug Moran Photographic Prize (2011 and 2012) and the Olive Cotton Award (2017). He is collected extensively in both private and public collections such as Artbank, Australian National Gallery, National Museum of Australia, National Museum of Scotland, Parliament of Australia, Western Plains Cultural Centre and Newcastle Art Gallery.
