The Strokes Iconic Early Years Captured In New Sydney Photography Exhibition

A Sydney exhibition celebrating 25 years of The Strokes’ debut album Is This It will showcase rare photography of the band from the early stages of their career.

Presented by Behind The Gallery, The Strokes: Is This It — 25th Anniversary will be held as a one-night-only exhibition at a Darlinghurst gallery on Wednesday, July 22. The event will feature photographs by Cody Smyth and Colin Lane, two photographers who documented the band during their formative years.

The exhibition will include work from Lane, who photographed the cover image for Is This It. Talking to Rolling Stone Australia, he recalled his first assignment with the band in 2001, saying: “I’d never heard of them, I was just happy to be shooting for The Face.”

Lane said the shoot later became significant after an impromptu photography session in New York.

“We had a few beers at my apartment, then ended up on the roof of the Lincoln Building,” he said, describing the location as featuring the Empire State Building in the background.

Smyth’s photographs document the band’s early years through a personal connection with the musicians. His work captured behind-the-scenes moments during the period when The Strokes were establishing their reputation in New York’s music scene.

“Youth is a hell of a thing,” Smyth said of the images, describing the period as a time when “the city felt like it was ours”.

The exhibition will combine photography with an audio component, featuring music from Is This It.

Stephen Dallimore, Creative Director of Behind The Gallery, said the exhibition would bring together photographs that documented an important period for the band.

“Twenty-five years on, Is This It still sounds like nothing else,” Dallimore said.

The exhibition will run from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, with attendance limited to registered guests. Visitors will also have the chance to enter a prize draw featuring a signed print of The Strokes and a Marshall speaker.