Great Southern Landscapes

TV.Cynic · March 8, 2022, 5:33am

ABC and Screen Australia are delighted to announce the commission of the illuminating new ABC art series Great Southern Landscapes.

Rachel Griffiths discovers Australia’s GREAT SOUTHERN LANDSCAPES on ABC

After the tremendous success of last year’s Finding the Archibald , art lover Rachel Griffiths has once again teamed up with Mint Pictures to present this new 6x30mins ABC prime-time series.

This time, Rachel trades famous Australian portraits for iconic landscapes in an entertaining fusion of art, social history, and travel. Packing up her boots and backpack, she heads off across Australia’s states and territories to find the exact spot where some of our most famous artists placed their easel to capture their interpretation of our iconic landscapes as we explore not just how much our landscapes have changed but how we see them too. Along the way she meets Australians from all walks of life who will help unlock the hidden secrets of the works and the untold personal, social, and cultural stories behind them.

Series presenter Rachel Griffiths, who is also an executive producer of the show, said: “I’ll be taking ABC’s viewers on a fun, factual, at times surprising and very visual adventure from our beaches to our rivers, across our plains and lakes, up our mountains and down our valleys looking for the very spot where some of our most iconic paintings were made.

“How many times have we feasted our eyes on a Nolan or an Olsen, marvelled at a Namatjira or been awed by a Clarice Beckett? But rarely, if ever, have we actually set foot on the spot where the artist stood. Rarely have we gazed at the very vista they were inspired by. That’s what’s so exciting about my mission in this series.”

Jennifer Collins, ABC Head of Factual and Culture said: “Finding the Archibald” was one of the ABC’s most successful series of 2021, and to have Rachel Griffiths return this year with her idea for Great Southern Landscapes is thrilling. ABC is the home for quality Arts programming and to have an offering like this in the heart of the schedule, in prime-time, is so exciting.”

Alex West, Head of Documentary, Screen Australia said: “It’s fantastic to see Rachel Griffiths, director Ariel White, and producer Dan Goldberg once again teaming up following the success of Finding the Archibald, this time with director Daniel King, to bring Great Southern Landscapes to life. As the name suggests, audiences should prepare themselves for a visually stunning documentary that promises to be absorbing regardless of whether you’re an art fanatic or not. Screen Australia is proud to continue to support documentaries filled with such passion and ambition.”

Great Southern Landscapes will come to ABC TV and ABC iview later in 2022.

Production credit: A Mint Pictures production in association with Magdalene Media. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC. Series Directors Ariel White and Daniel King. Series Producer Dan Goldberg. Executive Producers Adam Kay, Rachel Griffiths & Ariel White. ABC Commissioning Editor Julia Hanna. Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins.

ABC Commercial holds worldwide distribution rights.

TV.Cynic · July 6, 2022, 11:06pm

Premieres Tuesday, 9 August at 8.00pm

Illuminating new ABC art series, Great Southern Landscapes is set to premiere Tuesday, 9 August at 8.00pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.

Following the tremendous success of last year’s Finding the Archibald, art lover Rachel Griffiths returns to ABC screens and sets out to explore iconic Australian landscapes in this new program.

Presenting the new 6x30min prime-time series, Griffiths will explore the fusion of art, social history and travel to examine the influences on our changing landscape.

Expect an exploration of breathtaking works from Olsen to Von Guerard, Streeton to Namatjira and the stunning works of Narelle Autio and Clarice Beckett. The series is a celebration of our country’s precious and beautiful natural environment through the eyes of our greatest artists – highlighting how it’s up to all of us to do our bit to keep it that way.

Like Finding The Archibald, the series will be yet another entertaining cultural romp through time and place, though this time there’ll be more places and less faces on the iconic canvases.

Set to surprise and delight, the series will leave viewers with a new lens through which to look at the epic landscapes that surround us.

Production credit: A Mint Pictures production in association with Magdalene Media. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC. In association with Screen NSW. Series Director Ariel White. Field Producer Kirrilly Brentall. Series Producer Dan Goldberg. Executive Producers Adam Kay, Rachel Griffiths & Ariel White. ABC Commissioning Editor Julia Hanna. Acting Head of Factual and Culture Richard Huddleston.

ABC Commercial holds worldwide distribution right.

TV.Cynic · July 13, 2022, 12:56am

Episode 1

Tuesday 9 August 8.00pm

In this stunningly visual episode, art lover Rachel Griffiths travels to the Hawkesbury River to find the exact spot where Arthur Streeton painted his 1896 masterpiece, The Purple Noon’s Transparent Might.

Along the way, she gate-crashes a masterclass of modern-day Streeton-ites and armed with paint brushes and an easel, Rachel channels her inner Streeton in the very room at the Victorian Artists Society where the young artist made his magic alongside fellow Impressionists Fredrick McCubbin and Tom Roberts.

While in Melbourne, she eyeballs the original at the National Gallery of Victoria and learns how one curator spent his lockdown returning the painting to its former glory after 100 years of “cigar smoke”!

In Sydney, she visits Bradley’s Head, discovering that Streeton was ahead of the curve – an early environmentalist who painted a protest painting, Cremorne Pastoral, in 1895 in a bid to prevent a coal mine being opened on Sydney Harbour.

And then it’s off to the Hawkesbury, where Rachel meets a flood victim whose love affair with the river is at breaking point.

She then jumps in a tinny to learn how the First Nations Darug people have co-existed with its waterways for millennia, how early settlers were warned about the floods and how the river’s traditional name, Dyarubbin, is making a long overdue comeback.

Travelling by horseback, as Streeton did during the summer of 1896, Rachel approaches the lookout, finally arriving at X marks the spot.

Production credit: A Mint Pictures production in association with Magdalene Media. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC. In association with Screen NSW. Series Director Ariel White. Field Producer Kirrilly Brentall. Series Producer Dan Goldberg. Executive Producers Adam Kay, Rachel Griffiths & Ariel White. ABC Commissioning Editor Julia Hanna. Acting Head of Factual and Culture Richard Huddleston.

TV.Cynic · July 21, 2022, 5:11am

Episode 2

Tuesday 16 August 8.00pm

In this episode exploring cityscapes, art lover Rachel Griffiths romps around her own hometown of Melbourne to pinpoint the exact spot where Clarice Beckett painted her 1919 pandemic-era picture of Luna Park.

First up, it’s a trip to Brighton’s famous Bathing Boxes, regularly featured in Beckett’s work. Clarice Beckett was a forgotten artist until the 1960s when art curator Rosalind Hollinrake tracked down over 2000 paintings decaying in a cowshed in country Victoria. Many were impossible to rescue but she managed to salvage 369 artworks, one of which was the iconic Luna Park.

A trip to Adelaide and the Art Gallery of South Australia brings Rachel face to face with the original pint-sized painting. Curator Tracey Lock muses with Rachel how this Luna Park scene depicted during a global pandemic 100 years ago holds great resonance for a modern-day audience who have just endured two years of lockdowns and deserted city streets.

Just around the corner from her home, Rachel arrives at St Kilda Pier to hear from Boon Warrung Elder N’arwee’t Aunty Carolyn Briggs, whose ancestors have been faithful custodians of this country for millennia.

Arriving at the smiling face, Rachel has one last person to meet, her mother. Anna Griffiths recalls how she fought to save this amusement park from the hands of developers, so this place could be enjoyed for future generations.

Production credit: A Mint Pictures production in association with Magdalene Media. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC. In association with Screen NSW. Series Director Ariel White. Field Producer Kirrilly Brentall. Series Producer Dan Goldberg. Executive Producers Adam Kay, Rachel Griffiths & Ariel White. ABC Commissioning Editor Julia Hanna. Acting Head of Factual and Culture Richard Huddleston.

JohnsonTV · August 4, 2022, 11:45am

Episode 3
Tuesday 23 August 8.00pm

Rachel Griffiths voyages to Kati Thanda – Lake Eyre to find the spot where John Olsen drew inspiration for his 1975 painting of Lake Eyre.

JohnsonTV · August 28, 2022, 10:37pm

Episode 4
Tuesday 30 August 8.00pm

Art lover Rachel Griffiths travels to Tower Hill in country Victoria to find the exact spot where Eugene Von Guerard painted his legacy painting of 1855.

TV.Cynic · August 31, 2022, 10:59pm

Episode 5 - The Beach

Tuesday September 06 8:00pm

Art lover Rachel Griffiths travels to the Western Australia to find the exact spot where Narelle Autio framed her iconic 2004 snapshot.

In this insightful popular culture episode, art lover Rachel Griffiths travels to Western Australia to find the exact spot where Narelle Autio photographed her iconic 2004 shot, Splash.

Along the way, she travels to Adelaide to meet Narelle on her favourite beach and see the original photograph in the flesh. Narelle’s story of how she captured Splash is quintessentially Australian: a scorching 40 degree summer’s day, a packed urban back, Australians young and old frolicking in the sun and surf…and a shark siren.

While in South Australia, Rachel also meets Lucky, a refugee from Somalia who Narelle photographed in 2011 in a surf lifesaving burqini. As they stroll on a beach esplanade, they discuss how- despite the 2005 Cronulla race riots thebeach can still be a place of freedom, regardless of race, religion, creed or colour.

And then she flies to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia, to meet celebrated Australian author Tim Winton, whose work is awash with references to the beach and the surf in Australian culture. Tim explains why he chose Narelle’s photo to feature in one of his books.

And then it’s off to Cottesloe Beach in Perth, where Rachel meets a traditional owner who explains that this place, known to them as Mudurup, was a ceremonial site and a place of celebration for First Nations people.

Episode 6: Final Episode - Outback

Tuesday September 13 8:00pm

Art lover Rachel Griffiths treks to Western Arrernte country in central Australia to find the very spot Albert Namatjira painted his 1954 masterpiece of Rutjipma – Mount Sonder.

In this heart-warming episode, art lover Rachel Griffiths treks to central Australia and Western
Arrernte country to find the very spot Albert Namatjira painted his 1954 masterpiece of Rutjipma - Mount Sander.

Rachel’s first destination is Adelaide, to see the original watercolour on the wall at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Arriving at Ntaria (Hermannsburg) in Central Australia, Rachel meets Namatjira’s granddaughter Betty at Albert’s original house. Delving into precious memories, Betty recalls how Namatjira quickly mastered this new artform -watercolour painting.

Rachel then meets an unexpected collector, Greg Dick, who owns the Aileron Roadhouse some 130kms north of Alice Springs. Greg is the proud owner of more than 300 original Namatjira paintings, which cram the walls of his quirky gallery.

Namatjira’s legacy continues today at the lltja Ntjarra Art Centre in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) where local artists paint in the tradition of watercolours.

As evening falls, Rachel’s next port of call is at the Parrtjima Festival, representing an explosion of contemporary Indigenous art through the medium of light and sound.

The following day, as the sun sets behind the mountains, Rachel arrives at Rutjipma- Mount Sonder, reflects on how far she has travelled and takes on the advice given to her along the journey - sit, listen and enjoy.