Flesh: Gold Coast in the 60s, 70s and 80s

Overview

Queensland’s iconic Gold Coast has and continues to be a shining jewel in the tourism crown, a ritualistic family retreat, and a location full of vibrance and true Australian life. It was during the 1960s, '70s and '80s that the Gold Coast hit its prime, boasting a prime population of sun-kissed locals indulging in the relaxed everyday.

This was an era worth committing to film. To look back, the differences are stark and nostalgia is ever so present. Amateur photographer and social documentarian Graham Burstow, while on annual family holidays from Toowoomba snapped the human scenery in true candid form. His close-up and personal photography, a true account of life on the Goldie, fills the exhibition Flesh: Gold Coast in the '60s, '70s and '80s.

Hand-printed images in classic black-and-white display an overlooked goldmine of Australian culture, taking the shine off many recounts while zooming in on the natural gleam of bodgies, widgies, tanning-oiled bikini girls and beer-bellied drongos.