Born (1970) and raised in Sydney, Australia, Murray Fredericks studied politics and economics at Sydney University. Following his undergraduate degree, he spent five years traveling in the Middle East and in the Himalaya. The experience of spending large amounts of time in these ‘powerful’ locations provided the basis for his approach to his photography.

Essentially self-taught in photography, Fredericks undertook and completed a Masters of Art and then his MFA at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales some years into his ‘exhibiting’ career.

Fredericks’s work is derived from a perspective that views culture as something that cannot be wholly accounted for through social construct. It’s a view that sees some values as derived from a ‘time-less essence’. The work attempts to represent the experience when thought is temporarily suspended and the mind encounters ‘other’.

From the start of his career Fredericks process has involved prolonged solo journeys to remote and often extreme locations.

Adventure and endurance have never been goals in themselves and neither have the journeys been ‘spiritual’ or ‘monastic’ undertakings. By their very nature, though, the locations are difficult to access and require large amounts time spent in them to move the compositions past the ‘surface exotic’.

Murray Fredericks is represented by Hamiltons Gallery in London, Arc One Gallery in Melbourne and Annandale Galleries in Sydney. His works are exhibited internationally and around Australia. Works sit in major public and private and corporate collections including the National Gallery of Victoria, National Portrait Gallery, Elton John, Valentino, RBS, Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie Bank Collections.

Murray Fredericks first documentary film ‘Salt’, where he was cinematographer and co-director, won twelve major international awards, played over 50 festivals and was screened on the ABC and PBS in the USA

Solo Exhibitions
Year Title Gallery
2023 The Salt Lake (Retrospective) Museum of Australian Photography
2023 BLAZE Arc One Gallery
2023 Witness QVMAG, Launceston
2022 BLAZE Hamiltons Gallery, London
2019 Array Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2019 Array Arc One Gallery, Sydney
2018 Vanity Robert Mann Gallery, New York
2017 Salt: Vanity Hamiltons Gallery, London
2017 Vanity Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2016 Salt Townsville Regional Gallery
2016 DYE2 (Video Installation) Geelong Regional Gallery
2015 Origins Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2015 DYE2 (Video Installation) Australian Centre for Photography
2014 Recent Work Hamiltons Gallery, London
2014 Topophilia Annandale Galleries, Sydney
2013 Topophilia Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2012 Salt Art Factum, Beirut
2012 Hector Hamiltons Gallery, London
2012 Salt FotoFreo, Freemantle, Western Australia
2011 Hector Annandale Galleries, Sydney
2011 The Salt Project Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
2011 Trace Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2009 Salt Hamiltons Gallery, London
2009 Salt Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Salt Hamiltons Gallery, London
2007 Salt Arc One Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Salt Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney
2007 The Biscuit Factory The Museum of Sydney
2006 Salt Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney
Selected Group Exhibitions of Murray Fredericks
Year Title Gallery
2023 BLAZE Sydney Contemporary, Arc One Gallery
2022 BLAZE Paris Photo, Hamiltons
2022 Vanity AIPAD, New York
2019 Array Paris Photo, Hamiltons
2017 Fotográfica Bogotá Museum of Photography, Bogota
2016 Gallery Artists, Hamiltons Photo London
2016 Australian Pavillion Dubai Photo
2014 Luminous Worlds SAMSTAG, Adelaide
2014 QFP5 Queensland Festival for Photography 5, Brisbane
2012 Geomorphometries Queensland Centre for Photography, Brisbane
2012 Shadow Lands Deakin University
2011 Gallery Artists, Hamiltons Paris Photo
2010 Gallery Artists, Hamiltons Paris Photo
2010 Contemporary Landscapes National Gallery of Victoria
2010 The Lake Lake Macquarie Regional Gallery
2009 The Lake Australian Centre for Photography
2007 Emergent ABN Amro Finalists Exhibition, Sydney
2006 Landscape Eastlink Gallery, Shanghai

National Gallery of Victoria

Commonwealth Bank Collection

Myer Collection

ABN Amro Collection

Macquarie Bank Collection

National Portrait Gallery of Australia

Sir Elton John Collection

Valentino Collection

ARTBANK

Year Title Award
2023 Finalist Bowness Photography Prize, Museum of Australian Photography
2015 Winner Peoples Choice Award, Bowness Prize, Monash Gallery of Art
2015 Finalist Head On Landscape Prize (2nd place)
2014 Finalist Moran Prize
2014 Finalist Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award
2013 Finalist Foxtel Documentary Award, Sydney Film Festival
2010 Winner Australia’s Top Photographer
2009 Winner Golden Frog, Camerimage Film Festival, Poland
2009 Winner Best Australian Short Film, Melbourne International Film Festival
2009 Winner Special Jury Prize, AFI/Discovery Channel Silverdocs, Washington
2009 Winner Best Documentary Short, International Documentary Association, LA
2009 Nomination AFI Best Cinematography in a Documentary
2009 Nomination AFI Best Documentary
2009 Winner ABN Amro Emerging Artist Award
2008 Finalist ABN Amro Emerging Artist
Year Title Production Role
2023 Dark Emu Blackfella/ABC Time-lapse Specialist
2020 Our Planet Netflix/Silverback/Sir David Attenborough Time-lapse Specialist
2019 Green Planet BBC/Sir David Attenborough Field Producer
2019 The Drovers Wife Bunya/Oombarra Time-lapse Specialist
2019 Mystery Rd 2 ABC/Bunya Time-lapse Specialist
2018 Lost Empire of Angkor IMAX Time-lapse Specialist
2017 Mystery Rd ABC/Bunya Time-lapse Specialist
2017 A Perfect Planet Netflix/Silverback Time-lapse Specialist
2013 BBC Monsoon BBC Natural History Unit Time-lapse Specialist
2013 Nothing On Earth ABC/Screen Australia Director of Photography
2011 First Footprints ABC/z-Arte Timelapse Specialist
2009 Salt ABC/Screen Australia Co-Director/DP
2012 MFA College of Fine Arts, UNSW
2004 Masters of Art at COFA, UNSW
1992 Bachelor of Economics, Sydney University