The Revivalists

Essay 622 • Jun 21st 2026

The Revivalists started with a chance online discovery of an obscure and very niche motorsport event, the Red Dust Revival, held every three years in Outback WA. It sees vintage motorsport enthusiasts, and their 100 year old machines, gather from all over the country to relive the burgeoning years of motorsport.

From this discovery grew an idea to document the event and its participants in a drive-thru "studio". This involved driving from Sydney to Kalgoorlie with all the necessary equipment. In the end it took; eleven days, four motels, six nights sleeping in his car, eight full days driving over 4400mi, three days of shooting in everything from dust storms, willie willie's (miniature tornadoes), temperatures over 100 degrees and the odd shower.

The Revivalists explores people's relationships to their hobby - specifically motorsport and automotive culture. The time, effort and financial investment that goes into preparing for and attending motorsport events is significant. In essence, this is an exploration of passion as motivation. No prizes, no medals, just passion. It’s part of a larger body of work in progress that expands on these themes.

What follows are the results… Enjoy.













 

Joe Kennedy is a photographer based in Sydney, Australia. Humble, hard working with an innate curiosity that often leads him on unpredictable adventures. Joe is a photographer that strives to create images brimming with narrative and meaning. Much of his work is observational in nature, recording people and places through a lense that combines art and straight documentary coverage. This stems from his working class sensibilities where photography was always seen as a way to record people, places and events rather than an art. He is influenced deeply by Australian landscape and culture from the colour palettes he employs to the subject matter he chooses to capture. As such, much of his personal work strives to tell uncovered or overlooked stories of people and communities of regional Australia.
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