Faces of Wyndham — Exhibition & Project
Faces of Wyndham
Melbourne Portrait Exhibition
Faces of Wyndham is a six-year Melbourne community portrait exhibition and documentary portrait photography series, created by David Mullins, documenting the people who live and contribute to Wyndham.
This Melbourne portrait exhibition brings together all 128 portraits and first-person stories, displayed together for the first time as a public exhibition in the CBD. The work forms a long-term cultural record of one community, photographed consistently in the same studio environment over six years.
Melbourne exhibition opening: 21 February · World Trade Centre, Melbourne CBD
About the project
Faces of Wyndham is an artistic documentary portrait photography series and community portrait project created over six years, focused on the people who live and contribute to Wyndham.
The project was created as a long-term legacy body of work. From the beginning, the intention was that each portrait would stand as a considered work of art in its own right, and that each written story would be shaped carefully and respectfully, using the subject’s own words and voice. The work was self-funded and developed slowly through conversation, trust, and word of mouth.
Rather than attempting to define a community, the project set out to observe it. To listen closely. To create a lasting cultural record of individual lives shaped by place, work, family, migration, responsibility, and belonging.
All portraits were photographed in the same studio environment, ensuring every subject was given equal care and visual weight. Each image contributes to a broader documentary portrait series while remaining complete and resolved in its own right.
Together, the portraits and written stories form a quiet, cumulative record of everyday life, created with care, patience, and respect over time.
About the Artist
David Mullins is a Melbourne-based fine art portrait photographer and portrait artist whose work sits at the intersection of fine art portrait photography and long-form documentary portrait photography. He has lived in Wyndham for more than three decades and has photographed the community over many years through both commissioned and self-directed work.
His portrait practice is grounded in consistency, patience, and respect for the individual. Working primarily in a controlled studio environment, he creates considered portraits that prioritise presence, honesty, and visual integrity over trend or spectacle.
Faces of Wyndham is David Mullins’ most significant body of work to date and stands as a major community portrait project and documentary portrait photography series created independently over six years. The work reflects a sustained commitment to portrait photography as a means of recording people, place, and time with care and dignity.
Alongside this project, David operates a portrait studio in Melbourne’s west, specialising in studio portrait photography for individuals, families, and professionals. His commercial and commissioned work follows the same principles that underpin Faces of Wyndham: careful preparation, consistent execution, and portraits made to last.
The Exhibition
Faces of Wyndham is presented as a Melbourne documentary portrait exhibition in the CBD bringing together all 128 portraits and written stories from the project, displayed together for the first time as a full public exhibition in the CBD.
Each portrait is shown alongside the subject’s written story, allowing visitors to move through the exhibition as both a visual and narrative experience. The work has been installed to encourage time, reflection, and close looking, rather than quick consumption.
This exhibition brings together people from six continents living within the same local community in Wyndham photographed over a six-year period in the same studio environment. Presented collectively, the portraits function as a visual record of contemporary Wyndham and a shared snapshot of one place at one moment in time.
The Melbourne CBD presentation of Faces of Wyndham is made possible through a partnership with the Asian Business Association of Wyndham (ABAWyn). Their support helped ensure the project could be shown in full as a public exhibition, accessible to a broad audience beyond its local origins.
Together, the exhibition operates as a cultural record, a collection of individual histories, and a space for shared reflection.
Media Coverage
Faces of Wyndham has received media coverage at both local and state level, reflecting the project’s significance as a long-term documentary portrait series and public portrait exhibition.
The project and exhibition have been featured by The Age, Star Weekly, and Westsider, helping introduce the work to a broader audience and supporting its presentation as a full public exhibition in Melbourne’s CBD.
This coverage has contributed to wider public awareness of the project and its role as a cultural record of one community over time.
The Book
Faces of Wyndham is accompanied by a large-format hardcover documentary portrait book that brings together all 128 portraits and written stories from the project in a single, permanent record.
The book was created as a companion to the exhibition, allowing the work to exist beyond the gallery space and remain accessible over time. Each portrait appears alongside the subject’s story, preserving both image and voice in the form intended.
The book was produced in partnership with the Asian Business Association of Wyndham and stands as a community portrait archive documenting one place and its people over six years. Developed with the same care and restraint that guided the exhibition, the publication reflects a shared commitment to respectful, long-form documentation.
As a Melbourne portrait project, Faces of Wyndham now exists not only as a public exhibition, but also as a lasting printed archive. The book forms an enduring cultural record of the project once the exhibition concludes.
Acknowledgement
Faces of Wyndham was made possible with the support of the Asian Business Association of Wyndham (ABAWyn).
This project was created independently over six years without initial funding or institutional backing. The support of ABAWyn played a crucial role in enabling the project to be presented as a full public exhibition and published book.
ABAWyn is a not-for-profit organisation based in Victoria that works to support residents and businesses across Wyndham, with a strong focus on cultural connection, community development, and inclusion.
Their belief in the value of this project, and their willingness to support it at a critical stage, helped turn a long-term personal body of work into a permanent public record.
I am deeply grateful for their partnership and trust.
Stay Connected
Faces of Wyndham continues beyond the exhibition through ongoing documentation, portrait work, and future projects. Updates, behind-the-scenes insights, and new work are shared through David Mullins’ social channels and studio website.
You’re welcome to follow the project, explore related portrait work, and stay connected as the work continues to evolve.