Mug Shots

On Sunday the three of us went to a photography exhibition called Mug Shots, City Of Shadows – Early 20th Century Police Photography, Sydney, Australia.

In the late 1970's four tonnes of negatives were recovered from a flooded police warehouse in Western Sydney. The hundreds of thousands of photos of Sydney's theives, prostitutes, fraudsters, muderers and gamblers were categorised and the stories of the characters were researched and told. Some of the tales of the early-Australian underworld are both extraordinary and eerie.

The photos span the period 1912 to 1948 with many of them giving no clue to the photographer's identity. The exhibition was first shown in Sydney in November 2005. The exhibition has just opened at the Yours Gallery on Krakowskie Przedmieście and was really well attended when we were there. If you're in the centre of Warsaw before the 16th March we'd really recommend taking a look (admission is free) and there are some fantastic photos (and stories) on view, (they do nice hot chocolate in the cafe next door as well!)