Dream/Life is the acclaimed first book by Trent Parke, capturing five years of street documentary in Sydney during the 1990s. Moving from a small country town to the city at age 20, Parke used his camera to navigate a sense of isolation, resulting in a vision of Sydney that eschews postcard views for a restless, brooding atmosphere of hard light and deep shadow. The work portrays the city as a dreamlike space where ordinary moments—children playing, commuters in the rain—are elevated into cinematic drama through high-contrast black-and-white compositions.
