‘Road Side Salt’ Photography Exhibition by Josh Robenstone.

Exhibiting at Pan After in Collingwood, documentary photographer Josh Robenstone returns with an evocative, ochre-filled study of isolation and hopeful futility.

Shot in 2014, Road Side Salt transports the viewer to the sublime desolation of Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. Home to numerous shipwrecks and miles of rippling, mountainous dunes, “The Land God Made in Anger” is also home to Sub Saharan Africa’s largest salt mine, Walvis Bay, and a neighbouring marketplace of salt rocks, quietly assembled by its workers, most likely without consent from their employers and seemingly untouched for decades.

With many decayed beyond recognition, Robenstone documents as a typology of 16 images, the modest stalls still standing, idle in an arid landscape devoid of human activity, with an honesty system of jars, cans and tins waiting as patiently as the salt crystals themselves.

Built from salvaged odds and ends that each has their own personality and charm — perhaps reflecting the nature of the vendors themselves — Robenstone’s collection of images reinforces his reputation for portraiture imbued with visceral character, capturing the objects as if they were themselves alive.

Having exhibited in Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo and Los Angeles, Robenstone’s first published monograph (Basta!) is held in the National Gallery of Australia’s permanent collection, with his work hanging in numerous private collections in Australia and internationally. Robenstone has been published in The Good Weekend Magazine, The Observer Magazine, and The New York Times ‘T’ Magazine.

Road Side Salt opened at Pan After on Friday, March 26th, running until April 24th. For more information, visit joshrobenstone.com and panafter.com.au.

[Images courtesy of Josh Robenstone.]