Photography / Carol Jerrems – Portraits. At National Portrait Gallery until March 2. Reviewed by BRIAN ROPE.

Carol Jerrems: Portraits is a major exhibition of images by one of Australia’s most influential photographers.

Jerrems’ intimate portraits have shaped Australian visual culture. Against the backdrop of social change in the 1970s, her practice charted the women’s movement, documented First Nations activism, put a spotlight on youth subcultures and explored the music and arts scenes of the era.

What were you doing in the ‘70s? Some will not have been born then. Others spent those years “wasting their youth”. My wife and I were raising two young children. Some are well past the age Jerrems was in the ‘70s.

Her career spanned only 12 years before a tragic death. She captured her world – a voracious observer yet also intentional in her approach to narrative and composition.

The exhibition showcases 144 photographs. Is that a little overwhelming? And why are they all displayed before wide strips of pink paint?

Regardless, this show should be seen. It traverses the journey from Jerrems’ lesser-known early work to her iconic Vale Street 1975 and coincides with the 50th anniversary of her landmark publication A book about Australian women. It examines how the author’s artwork defined a decade and continues to shape our views of photography today.

I want to mention some less-known images. Firstly, Marilyn Monroe, the only portrait of a non-Australian. Is it really a portrait or rather part of a nondescript building on which hangs a framed Richard Avedon photo of Monroe?

Then there is Empty Corridor, which is not quite that. There are small silhouettes of unknown people at the corridor’s far end.

Much more significant is the inclusion of contact sheets providing valuable insights into the artist’s ways of working. Some show empty frames where images have been cut from the negative strips. Jerrems was very interested in the sequential nature of photography and often created contact sheets using strips of images taken on different film rolls, then exhibited those sheets as artworks alongside individual image prints.

Jerrems made her name during a time of significant social change. She explored activism by First Nations people, the women’s movement, youth subcultures, other artists and musicians. Many of the latter were household names and those who were then young adult Australians will be reminded of times in their lives. There are images of a pioneer of modernist painting in Australia, Grace Cossington Smith, of Aboriginal people including Rosslyn Johnson and David Gulpilil, of youth who became known as Sharpies, and of young friends simply enjoying each other’s company.

One image stands out for a number of reasons. Mirror with a Memory: Motel Room is the only colour image in the exhibition. It is an example of the artist’s use of mirrors. And it is a revealing self-portrait of her and her lifestyle.

Carol Jerrems’ portraits in focus for summer show