IN THE not so distant past play lists were called mix tapes.

Photographer and gallery owner William Debois said it was a great way of sharing your favourite music with friends.

"You have to be a certain age to remember what a mix tape was," he said.

"But the concept has been around for a very long time.

"It speaks to everyone whether you call it a play list and share it with others."

Mr Debois said he was inspired to call his latest exhibition at Photopia Studio "MIXTAPE" after wondering how he could share artworks he loved with his friends.

"I keep stalking an online community of artists in a social networking group called VSCO," he said.

"I was inspired by the melting pot of creative energy from these artists from around the world who are also inspired by each-other's artwork."

MIXTAPE was driven by a desire to share Mr Debois' love for photography

"I also wanted to make it accessible in a physical form, to an audience that would probably never get to see these images otherwise," he said.

"Very much like carefully assembling a compilation of music for friends."

He said the photos are a contemporary mix of contemporary photography from around the world.

"I collated images from six photographers from four continents," Mr Debois said.

"It's a very multicultural and eclectic group.

"Their images provide a kind of street level understanding of their world, that is raw and unflinching.

"I made a point of not finding out too much about them, I just wanted to enjoy their images.

"Part of the pleasure of MIXTAPE is to try to work out the back story of each creator and their images."

One of the artists was so happy to be featured in the exhibition he is travelling to Gladstone.

"Masahiro Nakata will be travelling from Japan to be at the opening on Friday night which is very exciting," Mr Debois said.

He even found a creative way of advertising the exhibition.

"I bought a large batch of cassette tape covers from an op shop," he said.

"Some of them are from my own collection so there are covers from French rocker tapes which have travelled with me from France to England then Australia."

For more images of the featured artists, including those of Mr Debois, visit the VSCO site and download the app.

MIXTAPE Exhibition

Where: Photopia Studios

Crow Street Creative

When: opens Friday 6.30pm until 13 October

Featured Artists:

Celia Tang

Ricoh Yuzi

Masahiro Nakata

Cristobel Lopez Baena

Will Milne

Magdalena de Johne Malucha