UNDERWORLD: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties

UNDERWORLD – a stunning new exhibition of police mugshots from the 1920s opens at Orange Regional Museum at 6pm this evening (31 October).

Descend into Sydney’s seedy underworld. Lying beneath the surface of the Art Deco glamour, jazz and sophisticated society lurks a world of gangs, guns, vice and violence – welcome to the dark side of the Roaring Twenties.

UNDERWORLD: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties, is a remarkable new photographic exhibition of over 130 images reproduced from the scanned 100-year-old glass plate negatives in the collection of the Justice and Police Museum, Sydney.

Taken between 1920 and 1930, these compelling images of criminal bosses, plotters, bruisers, petty crims, wayward youth and fallen soldiers were never intended to be seen by the public. Suspects smile, scowl and simper for the camera in poses of their own choosing unlike the deadpan stares found in conventional mugshots from around the world.

 As well as capturing the subjects physical appearance, they show a hint of their personality; smoking, reading, chatting, slouched on chairs, holding handbags and often wearing stylish outfits.

Accompanying the images are the backstories of the suspects revealing criminal activity, networks and some international links.

UNDERWORLD: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties will be opened at a free public event by Nerida Campbell, Curator, at 6pm on Thursday 31 October. The exhibition will be open to the public 9am-4pm daily (excluding 25 December) from Friday 1 November 2019–Sunday 1 March 2020.