About:
Andy Vukosav’s 1982 Cessna 182RG - AKA “Valerie”
Flying solo into remote terrain for days, sometimes weeks at a time, Andrew Vukosav has photographed the strange beauty of the Australian continent from a viewpoint that overturns familiar clichés of the outback landscape.
Years in the making, Longitude / Latitude / Solitude moves from the intricate filigree of coastlines to the vast dunes, saltpans and rock plateaus of inland Australia. Seen from above, the land appears to shift between states of fluidity and permanence, between atmosphere and geology. Crystalline salt lakes glisten like immense snowfields or opalescent glaciers, while the shallows of estuaries seem to swirl like clouds.
With decades of experience as a commercial photographer and a lifelong passion for flight, Vukosav sought a photographic experience beyond simply holding a camera to a cockpit window. Through careful engineering, his Cessna 182, Valerie, was transformed into a specialised aerial camera platform, carrying a high-resolution Phase One system into the sky.
Something unusual happens through this process. The aircraft becomes part of the camera itself, pitching, banking and positioning in response to the landscape below. The resulting photographs do not feel as though they have been framed from inside a cockpit. Instead, they hold a sense of radically open space, offering an experience of the sky around the aircraft as much as the vast earth below.
Artist's statement:
My work is born from a restless pursuit of freedom, a lifelong passion for photography and flight, and a deep personal connection to the Australian landscape.
For more than a decade, I have flown solo across remote parts of the continent in my Cessna 182, Valerie, searching for moments where the apparent chaos of nature suddenly reveals order. From the air, rivers, salt lakes, coastlines, tidal flats, deserts and mineral formations begin to shift between document and abstraction, geography and memory.
While the initial impulse is fueled by adventure, curiosity and the thrill of discovery, the heart of this project lies in quiet observation. Seen from above, the landscape becomes something both immense and fragile — a living system shaped by water, weather, time, climate, seismic activity and even the passage of animals.
I’ve been holding cameras my entire adult life, and suddenly realised I was sitting inside one. Over time, Valerie became more than an aircraft. She became a flying camera: shaped by movement, solitude and the act of looking.
These photographs are an invitation to slow down and see the Earth differently. They are a tribute to the treasures we currently hold, and a reminder of our responsibility to protect and preserve them so they may remain vibrant for generations to come.
Selected exhibitions, collections and critical context
Longitude / Latitude / Solitude has been presented internationally in Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Osijek and New York, as well as in gallery and cultural contexts throughout Australia. In Paris, the work was exhibited at the Australian Embassy as part of Australia now, a celebration of Australian arts and culture.
Works from the project form part of permanent collections at Australian diplomatic missions and are also held in institutional and private collections in Australia and internationally. The practice has developed a loyal Australian and international collector base, including several longstanding collectors who have selected multiple works over time and continue to follow the project.
Andrew’s practice has been written about by critic and academic Dr Edward Colless, whose engagement with the project has extended beyond the finished photographs to accompanying Andrew on photographic expeditions across Australia and observing the work as it was made.
Longitude Latitude Solitude: The Video
Director / DOP: Thuy Vy
Drone Photography : Gavan Dawe
Additional Photography: Gavan Dawe, Remy Zimbardi
Editor: Jon Holmes
Music: Nick Batterham