The Revivalists
In the desert of Western Australia a unique breed of car enthusiast gathers to pay homage the the Golden Era of grassroots motorsport.
For a while, I had been kicking around the idea of a series that explores peoples relationships to their hobbies - specifically motorsport. The time, effort and financial investment that goes into preparing for and attending motorsport events is monumental. Motorsport is a diverse term that evokes very specific ideas in the average persons mind. To the person on the street motorsport is Formula 1, Moto GP or Supercars - big budget, professional spectacles. Though most racing that takes place is purely for the love of it and takes a myriad forms. From the wealthy racing exotic supercars in pro-am series to working class folks in beat up hatchbacks and everything in between. The idea being to photograph these people with their machines to showcase this diversity not only in the people taking part but their chosen categories. I knew that once I started, new forms of motorsport would enter my awareness and the scope of the project would grow. What I didn’t expect was that one of the most compelling events would come to me out of the blue.
Sometime early in 2025, I found myself deep in a rabbit hole. I was trawling the internet looking for information/advice on some business development stuff. In one of the videos a passing mention was made of an event called the Red Dust Revival at a place called Lake Perkolilli, accompanied by a photo. Only half paying attention the image snapped me out of my haze, “What the hell was that?”. Hard sun, weathered faces, old cars, bikes and red dirt as far as the eye could see. I immediately knew I had to shoot it for myself. One problem, Lake Perkolilli was in the middle of Western Australia. Approximately 3500 kilometres away, quite literally on the other side of the country.
The idea lingered in my brain, despite the impossible logistics there was something in my gut that told me I needed to do this but for this to happen I needed a clear plan. The event was a week long. Flying would involve, 4 flights, lots of excess baggage for camping and camera equipment and a hire car at the other end. Too expensive. Driving would add at least a week but cost less. So I drive, across, the, country. To cut costs further I would sleep in my car. To minimise time away while not becoming a road toll statistic I would only shoot 3-4 of the 7 days. 4-5 days to get there, 3-4 shooting and 4 days to get home. 13 days away. Easy.
So with my car packed with a mini studios worth of equipment and camping gear to sustain me for at least 10 days I set off, pointed my car west and kept driving until four and a half days driving later I arrived trackside on the Wednesday in the middle of the weeklong event. What follows is the results… Enjoy.
