150 x 100cm

Archival pigment print on Ilford cotton rag 310gsm

White wood frame with art glass

Edition 1 of 5

Tempo (Time)

Captured in Sturt National Park, NSW, Tempo (Time) presents a stark landscape where the dry remains of gum trees stand within the basin of a now-dry lake. Once sustained by water, these forms persist as quiet witnesses to time and environmental transformation, embodying both endurance and loss.

Through this work, Diego Alvares invites a contemplative engagement with the passage of time and its imprint on the natural world. The image resists a singular narrative, instead opening a space for reflection on the evolving relationship between environment and change. It raises controversial questions: are such landscapes the result of long-term natural cycles, or do they signal the accelerating impact of human-driven climate change?

Tempo (Time) does not seek to provide answers, but rather to situate the viewer within a moment of stillness and uncertainty. In doing so, it encourages a deeper awareness of temporal scale - where human presence, ecological systems, and geological processes intersect - and prompts consideration of the fragile balance that sustains them.

Diego Alvares is a Sydney-based photographer whose practice is shaped by a background in visual communication and a deep engagement with place, culture, and identity. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising, he spent over a decade working across photography and fine art printing, developing a strong technical foundation and a nuanced understanding of image-making as both craft and narrative.

Over the years, his photographic style has evolved into a documentary approach, influenced by extensive travels around the world. Through his lens, Diego explores themes of heritage, belonging, and cultural continuity, with a recent particular interest in First Nations communities - both in Australia and Brazil - as well as themes involving nature and environmental issues.

In 2022, Diego joined the Royal Australian Navy, after which photography became a parallel practice pursued alongside his service. This transition has further deepened his perspective, shifting photography into a more personal and reflective practice.

He has been working on a long-term project documenting Indigenous communities in the Brazilian Amazon, a body of work that seeks to engage with questions of identity, tracing connections between land, memory, and cultural resilience.

Diego’s most recent work is “Tempo (Time), which can be seen at Sydney Road Gallery as part of the Echoes Photo Exhibition.