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"The World’s Longest City" is a contemporary documentary photo series that explores Perth’s rapid suburban expansion and its implications. Stretching over 150 kilometres from Mandurah in the south to Two Rocks in the north, Perth exemplifies the effects of urban sprawl. Photographer Harry Cunningham travelled this vast corridor, documenting the sprawling suburbs and examining the visual and environmental impacts of unchecked growth. What does sprawl look like at ground level, and what are the consequences of such expansion? Through symbolic urban imagery of barren streetscapes, mass-produced houses, and endless roads, the series challenges viewers to rethink Perth's everyday, often overlooked, scenes. As an issue deeply intertwined with Perth’s identity, "The World’s Longest City" raises broader concerns about the city’s development, priorities, and long-term livability. Cunningham’s work encourages reflection on the values shaping Perth’s growth and the consequences of its current trajectory.
The World’s Longest City Photobook - Jakarta International Photo Festival 2026
In September 2026, my photobook The World’s Longest City was selected for the Jakarta International Photo Festival (JIPFest) 2026 Photo Exhibition, presented as part of this year’s festival theme, RESILIENCE.
The collection was exhibited at Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta from 11–20 September 2026, presented by Lucas Leo Catalano, MA MPhil, and Dr Jacob Canet-Gibson.
JIPFest is an international photography festival organised by the PannaFoto Institute, bringing together photographic and multimedia practices from Indonesia and around the world. The 2026 edition featured 22 selected projects from 17 countries, selected from 408 submissions representing 58 countries.
The World’s Longest City was presented alongside other Western Australian photographic works, including Chloe Bartram’s work, Matt Duns’ The Killing Sink, and Tace Stevens’ We Were Just Little Boys. The inclusion of these works provided an opportunity for contemporary photographic practice from Western Australia to be represented within an international photography festival in Jakarta.
The 2026 festival theme, RESILIENCE, explored how people, communities and environments respond to change, uncertainty and adversity. The World’s Longest City contributes to this broader conversation through its examination of Perth’s vast urban footprint, landscape, infrastructure and the social and environmental consequences of a city that stretches across an enormous geographic area.
The presentation marked an international exhibition of The World’s Longest City and brought the project’s photographic exploration of Perth and Western Australia to an international audience, alongside photographic practices from across the world.
With thanks to Lucas Leo Catalano and Dr Jacob Canet-Gibson for including The World’s Longest City in their curation and for helping bring Western Australian photographic practice to an international audience.
Jakarta International Photo Festival (JIPFest)
Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta, Indonesia
11–20 September 2026
Theme: RESILIENCE
Taman Ismail Marzuki, Central Jakarta, Indonesia
11–20 September 2026
Theme: RESILIENCE
