Australian photographer, writer

(b. 1948, Sydney, NSW)

Michel Lawrence is best known for his portraits of painters and sculptors photographed in their studios and homes from the early 1980s including some of Australia’s most famous artists: Sidney Nolan with a cut-out Kelly mask; Arthur Boyd at Bundanon; Donald Friend holding one of his ever-present diaries; John Wolseley at Gosse’s Bluff in Central Australia; John Olsen in his Spanish hat; and Tim Storrier rubbing his hand with flames appearing to come from the rubbing. Michel Lawrence’s iconic photo of Lloyd Rees is included in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. The Framed project resulted in the book: Framed, Portraits of Australian Painters and exhibitions at Australian Galleries, Melbourne and Sydney. Michel Lawrence has subsequently completed the large-scale All of Us project which was shown as an installation of 200, 2-metre portraits exhibited on the external walls of Melbourne’s Federation Square in 2008;  and Indian Aussies - portraits of Indians who have chosen to make Australia their home -which toured India for the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade during 2010-2011. Michel Lawrence’s published books, Framed and All of Us are now both out of print. His first major exhibition Funny Business was staged at Melbourne’s Lighthouse Gallery in 1985 and forms part of the permanent collection of the Melbourne Performing Arts Musuem.