Court in the act

Photographs providing a rare insight into the cloistered word of the justice system are the subject of Court in the act, an exhibition now on display at the Justice & Police Museum until 23 April 2006.

Court interiors, court staff and legal personalities feature in the sixteen works by Mark Tedeschi, Senior Crown Prosecutor, who says the exhibition brings together both his passion for the law and his love of photography:

'In this series of photographs, I was captivated by the chance to explore real people who are bastions of the criminal justice system, but who also have a number of different facets to their lives and different roles to play In the system.

'When I’m happy with a photograph, it’s because I’ve captured the essence of a person, a scene or a drama.

'Take for example, my photograph of the Hon Justice ’Roddy’ Meagher. Roddy is one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met because he doesn’t fit into any mould. He was a Judge of Appeals and has written textbooks that are studied by every single law student in Australia. His chambers were an extraordinary, eclectic collection of art. When I went to photograph him, he was having a lesson in Hebrew and so in this image I wanted to evoke his intelligence, his love of art and also his eccentricities.'

An ardent photographer since 1988, capturing a diverse range of subjects including street photography, the people of ’The Block’ at Redfern, the urban and natural environment, and a multitude of portraits capturing a diverse range of emotions, Mark Tedeschi’s work has been acquired by national and state galleries and institutions and has been featured in numerous publications.

Past exhibition