MAP GROUP

In the absence of words that rise much above ‘prolonged dry weather events impacting on inflow conditions’, we have these photographs that, in the various unpredictable ways of the camera, capture the ancient drama now unfolding, and the hope of resurrection.
– Don Watson

There has been nothing like it in living memory. Theories about cycles and seasons struggle to explain it. It is beyond reasonable drought.

A group of photographers, the Many Australian Photographers (MAP) Group led by Andrew Chapman, have set out to capture the impact of sustained drought on not only the land but also on the people who live and work with it.

As they travelled over Australia with their cameras, these photographers witnessed the effects of profound changes in a wide range of communitites. Caught in their lenses were the faces and the stories of communities whose lives were being transformed as the rains over much of Australia’s bread basket and beyond stopped falling regularly and the land altered.

In this wonderful photographic tribute we see the true state of the nation – the resilience, the ingenuity, the despair and the hope of Australia.

Beyond Reasonable Drought grew out of an exhibition of MAP Group photographs displayed under the same name at Old Parliament House and now travelling the country, managed by the Museum of Australian Democracy. At the suggestion of the State Library of Victoria, the full archives were sourced and the book compiled and bound into one beautiful volume.

‘Beyond Reasonable Drought could not be more timely,’ explains Timothy Lee, senior reporter from ABC Television’s Landline.

‘The photographs in this book say much about our national character, of resilience and laconic humour in the face of hardship. The fetid mud of an empty waterhole has become a deathtrap, and the farmer, poised above, is about to shoot his stricken stock. The bones of earlier drought victims lie bleaching in the weather. The dust clouds ascend from spidery stock trails as sheep trudge to water. Exposed riverbeds and lakes show boats beached like whales. There is human drama in the protest placards carrying angry messages for politicians about who has the right to precious water supplies.

‘In time, this collection will be regarded as a national treasure, and this book a family heirloom.’

The MAP Group is a non-profit assocation of photographers who share a passion and a commitment to high quality, independent documentary image making. The MAP Group is primarily involved in recording rural environments, and they donate their images to the towns and people involved, enriching their historical archives in a unique and substantial way.

The MAP Group is donating half of the royalties from the publication of Beyond Reasonable Drought to Australian Women in Agriculture (AWiA) in recognition of the support this organisation provides to rural communities.

Click on the cover image below for more information on Beyond Reasonable Drought.