MARTIN THURNHEER

Creative Direction · Photography · Design · Storytelling

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I’ve spent my career moving between disciplines, projects and ideas — often finding that the most interesting work happens somewhere between the usual definitions. I tend to begin with curiosity rather than an answer.

 

What are we really trying to do?

Who is it for?

What already exists?

What matters?

And where could we take it from here?

 

That approach has taken me from developing brand systems and telling the history of La Trobe University to creating Collingwood Football Club’s historical archive; from publishing best-selling cookbooks and producing a major consumer food event to exhibitions, photography and the ongoing activation of Ballarat’s historic Sacred Heart College.

 

Much of that work has involved taking projects from an initial idea through to delivery — bringing together people, budgets, timelines, creative thinking and the practical realities required to make something happen.

 

Along the way, I’ve worked with organisations including McGraw Hill Education, Country Road, Tourism Australia, World Vision, Optus, Bakers Delight and the Australian Defence Force.

 

The work changes. The approach remains consistent.

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Start with people.

Understand the landscape.

Find what matters.

Explore what might be possible.

Then make something that belongs there.

 

I care about detail, but I’m equally interested in the connections between them — the unexpected possibilities and the part of an idea that might otherwise be overlooked.

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The Camino de Santiago probably says as much about my creative approach as any project I’ve been part of. It began simply as a spiritual pilgrimage across Spain. Along the way, I started taking one photograph each day — not just of what I saw, but of how that day felt.

 

Thirty-three days became thirty-three photographs. Those photographs became an exhibition combining imagery, writing, objects and sound, followed by further exhibitions at the Convent Gallery Daylesford, Frankston Arts Centre and Melbourne’s Southbank arts precinct. Later, I was invited to join a Camino panel, sharing our experiences and encouraging others to consider a journey of their own.

 

None of that was planned when I first decided to walk. One idea opened the way to another — reinforcing something I’ve always carried into my work: begin with a meaningful starting point, stay curious, and remain open to where it might lead.