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Max Dupain Born 1911, Sydney, Australia; died 1992, Sydney Max Dupain believed that photography held the promise of creating ‘new relationships and new values between man and his environment’, and therefore helped us understand ourselves. Dupain’s passion for the ‘drama’ of Australia’s sunlight, pursuit of formal simplicity and treatment of industrial subjects as a ‘giant still life’ saw him heralded as the pioneer of modern photography in this country. 1 At Victoria Mill, North Queensland 1978 was taken during Dupain’s long tenure as a documentary photographer for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR), which commenced in 1936 and lasted throughout his professional career. During his 40-year relationship with CSR, Dupain documented the evolution of the business, from sugar production to manufacturing building materials and mining. The photographer’s ability to turn industrial machinery into striking geometric works of art reflected his belief in the power of innovation to drive Australia forward, and the beauty he saw in the modern era. Viewed in today’s context, At Victoria Mill, North Queensland — with its smokestacks iconographic of pollution and climate change — might appear to bear witness to an industrial past unaware of, or unresponsive to, its environmental impact. In this instance, the smoke coming from the sugar mill complex is in fact innocuous steam. As our understanding of and relationship with our environment evolves, the creative power of photography to transform our comprehension of the world also changes. While, over the past several decades, photography has attested to the impact of increasing global temperatures, perhaps its future lies in inspiring our capacity to imagine a new world and to celebrate the power of human ingenuity once again. JG 1 Max Dupain, Max Dupain’s Australia , Viking, Ringwood, Vic., 1986, p.21. Max Dupain / At Victoria Mill, North Queensland 1978 129 128 Burn Burn