The Melbourne Holocaust Museum (MHM)’s most recent installation is Aftershocks: Nolan and the Holocaust, an exhibition of paintings by Australian artist Sidney Nolan. The collection includes 56 works of Nolan’s 1961 paintings of Auschwitz victims and, exhibited for the first time, his later works depicting the Ravensbrück women’s Holocaust camp. Produced by the Sydney Jewish Museum, the exhibition makes its Victorian premiere at the Melbourne Holocaust Museum.

Sidney Nolan’s engagement with the Holocaust began in 1961, following the trial of Nazi perpetrator Adolf Eichmann and a visit to Auschwitz. Initially invited by The Observer newspaper to illustrate an article about the camp, Nolan was so profoundly affected by the horrors he witnessed that he ultimately refused to complete the commission. What followed was a deeply personal artistic response, as Nolan created a series of raw and emotional works reflecting his traumatic encounter with the atrocities of Auschwitz.

The publicity campaign for Aftershocks achieved over $700,000 in media value, with articles making national headlines including in The Age. Previously, Zilla & Brook also worked on the launch of the Underground exhibition in 2022, achieving a PR value of over $250K.