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'The light, the colours, if I close my eyes that's exactly how I picture it' – @urbanartmeetsnature, Instagram comment, 2025
melbourne in retrospect
Exhibition opening hours
17 March to 28 May 2026
Tuesdays & Thursdays: 10am–4pm
Saturdays: 10am-1pm
Burke Gallery (Professor Sir Joseph Burke Gallery)
Level 1, Gateway Building, »ÆÉ«app (Enter via Tin Alley)
100 Royal Parade Parkville 3052
James Tyrrell, of Harper & Charlie, captures Melbourne in a way that deeply binds us to the city’s story and our memories of it.
Drawing upon archival photographs of buildings and places, some of them long-gone but often not forgotten, the Melbourne-based illustrator reimagines the city’s changing landscape in a style that evokes the same period, reminiscent of vintage travel posters.
His works span some of the city’s best-loved icons – Flinders Street Station, the State Library of Victoria, the neon-lit ‘Skipping Girl Vinegar’ sign – to lesser-known buildings that once graced Melbourne’s streets, that have been lost through development. On Instagram, his illustrations elicit a passionate flood of memories, anecdotes and recollections.
Throughout his career, James has worked for global brands across a range of industries including travel, apparel and large-scale architectural projects. His work has been shortlisted multiple times in the AOI World Illustration Awards.