Photo by the great Barbara Poetzl

Martin Mischkulnig was born in 1969 in Adelaide, South Australia, to Austrian immigrant parents. His most vivid childhood memories are of riding his Yamaha motorbike through the vast desert behind his parents’ outback roadside motel — a place that sparked a lifelong fascination with landscapes and human connection.

Martin has been a professional photographer since 1997. His work is often driven by a desire to place people meaningfully within their environments — a reflection of his deep belief that we are shaped by the spaces we inhabit. This perspective has shaped both his portrait and architectural work, and has led to numerous prestigious commissions across Australia.

To compliment his photography, Martin also completed a Master’s in Film Studies at Staffordshire University and the Raindance Film School in London.


‘Martin Mischkulnig has a deep, respectful appreciation for the land and its people and an aptitude for noticing the beauty in the places that most would rather politely ignore. His palette, infused with a unique air and tenderness always stands true to his style and the varied personality of landscape. Martin has been exhibited widely around Australia. His books, Collector: A Photographic Collection and Smalltown entail a rare combination of strange beauty infused with a sense of nostalgia - Martin Mischkulnig's photographs transfigure ugliness into art by means of technique and love.'