Pulp Fiction: Quick and Dirty Publishing from the 40s and 50s (2015)

It has been a busy couple of years for crime writer and academic Dr Peter Doyle, who has had launched several popular exhibitions, and whose books, including City of Shadows and Crooks Like Us have become hugely popular amongst crime history aficionados. And, following his 2013 exhibition Suburban Noir, Doyle will start off 2015 with a new exhibition in February: Pulp Fiction: Quick and Dirty Publishing from the 40s and 50s. Doyle will be the curator of the exhibition, to be held at the State Library of New South Wales. The exhibition will feature vintage cover art from crime books, illustrations, and comic book panels from the Sydney publishing house Frank Johnson Publications.

Criminal Exhibitions in the Justice and Police Museum

Two new exhibitions are currently doing the rounds at Sydney’s Justice and Police Museum: Notorious Criminals: A Snapshot of Sinister Sydney, and Breakers: The Dying Art of Safebreaking. Following on from the hugely successful series City of Shadows and Suburban Noir, both of which were curated by Dr Peter Doyle, these latest exhibitions focus on notorious Sydney gangsters from Kate Leigh to John ‘Chow’ Hayes. Curated by Nerida Campbell, the Notorious Criminals series delves into Sydney’s crime world from the 1860s to 1990s, while Breakers features the tools confiscated from real-life breakers. Here is a description of Notorious Criminals:

Sydney’s first European settlers were criminals – not an auspicious start – and the city has maintained its reputation for breeding some of the world’s hardest, most malevolent and cunning crooks. From surreptitious poisoners, smoothing their victim’s brow while holding a poisoned cup to their mouth, through to low-lifes who would kill you for the coat on your back, this city has seen them all….

The newest display at the Justice & Police Museum tells the story of nine of the city’s most notorious criminals. Stretching from the 1860s-1990s it features well known gangsters like sly-grogger Kate Leigh as well as forgotten criminals such as the Parramatta River murderers Lester and Nichols. Using intriguing objects and crime scene images it showcases a remarkable array of criminals including bushrangers, gangsters and a serial killer. Previously unpublished crime scene images of a cold-blooded murder committed by gangster John ‘Chow’ Hayes will be on display along with deathmasks, cut-throat razors and a poison bottle. Visitors can also explore the museum’s courtrooms and cells where many of the featured criminals spent time before doing time in jail.

Here is the description of the Safebreakers exhibition:

Sydney was once infested by safebreakers. Some were sophisticated specialists like Richard Reynolds, who used the latest technology to crack safes. Others like Kong Lee had a more slap-dash approach – stuff the safe with explosives and hope the neighbours don’t complain about the noise when it blows. Investigating safebreaks was an everyday occurrence for police. Legendary undercover policeman Frank ‘the Shadow’ Fahy  used his superior surveillance skills to foil many safebreaking plots. He was so successful at blending in with criminals that he was regularly arrested by cops who were unaware of his true identity. In the Breakers display you will see the tools confiscated from safebreakers, hear a policeman talk about his experience investigating  safebreaking during the 1950s and see the remarkable story of Sydney’s safebreakers as captured in the NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive.

Both exhibitions are open only on weekends in Sydney’s Justice and Police Museum, corner of Albert and Phillip Streets, Circular Quay, Sydney.

Nights of Noir: New Launch and Exhibition

Coinciding with the launch of Matthew Asprey’s ‘Noir’ edition of Contrappasso Magazine on November 27 at Newtown’s ‘Midnight Special’ bar, crime writer and researcher Peter Doyle will be launching his new exhibition, Suburban Noir, on November 30. The exhibition explores the “darker side of 1950s and 60s Sydney”. The launch will feature Peter Doyle discussing his research and latest work, and will take place at 11:30am-12:30pm on Saturday, November 30 at the Museum of Sydney. Below is a description of the exhibition:

Postwar Sydney wasn’t only about shiny cars, motor mowers and happy families. Suburban Noir explores the raw, half-built Sydney of the 1950s and early 60s through recently uncovered crime-scene images from the NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, as well as contemporary artworks. The exhibition breaks with the tradition of presenting Sydney as a visual splendour, finding instead a more reserved city. The police photographs capture the spaces left behind: a moody catalogue of vacant lots, empty roads, desolate interiors and everyday fragments of life in these hard-bitten slices of Sydney. Look at these images long enough and everything starts to look like a crime scene.

Guest curator Peter Doyle invited a group of visual artists to loan existing works or create new works in response to the forensic photographs. They have responded with diverse visual sensitivities and understanding, finding drama and tragedy but also surprising stateliness and dramatic beauty. The artists are Vanessa Berry, Dallas Bray, Rhett Brewer, Charles Cooper, Theresa Darmody, Di Holdsworth, Bruce Latimer, Michael Lewy, Frank Littler, Reg Mombassa, Peter O’Doherty, Ken Searle, Susannah Thorne and Anne Wallace.

Matthew Asprey’s fourth, double issue of Contrappasso is now available on Amazon.com, or else purchase copies at the launch, held at The Midnight Special, Newtown, November 27, from 6pm. See their website for more details.

City of Shadows (Exhibition)

Starting tomorrow, June 29, the Sydney Living Museums is re-opening the City of Shadows Exhibition, a terrifically dark look at Sydney crime and razor gangs during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. The stunningly gruesome and gritty police forensic photography will be on show at Sydney’s Police and Justice Museum. The exhibition comes from the work of Sydney writer and academic, Peter Doyle (pictured below), whose work City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs, 1912-1948 (2005) and Crooks like Us (2009) has inspired the exhibition, and who works as a part-time curator of the museum. While not immediately associated with crime, the city of Sydney has a shady past of colourful crooks and gangsters. Also to feature in 2013 is the much-anticipated Suburban Noir exhibition, also curated and organised by Doyle, which is to feature artistic interpretations -paintings, photographs- of police forensic photography collected and archived by Doyle.