2021 Winners

Ophelia

Photos by

Taygan Bassi

This project stems from my subjective experiences living with depression and the subsequent detachment from self and reality. The series takes on a melancholy feel in its focus on introspection, finding the beauty within sadness and using practice-led research to express, reflect and heal through creating.
The image series are printed and frozen in ice, then re-photographed.

Gold Digging Poet

Photo by

Scott Andrews

Wet plate collodion image of Kev! Kev has had a very interesting life and has certainly had his fair share of hurdles in life . You can see that in his eyes and his skin, a great poet and writer and a gold digger.
His favourite thing in the world is to be out in the bush away from people digging for gold! An extremely intelligent man, a true survivor.

I’m still here do you see me

Photo by

Amanda Smith

I’m still here, do you see me?
I am still here, still present, still alive, still me. My scars don’t define me and yet they are of me. Do you struggle to see past them, with them, through them, to me? My mental health battle is ugly, I am beautiful. Beauty doesn’t bestow happiness, I am not the girl who has everything, life doesn’t work like that. I can breathe, for now.

Self Study

Photo by

Robert Sherwood Duffield

This work is also prior to my seeking out psychiatric help. It depicts myself life-size pressed up against the picture plane, breaking apart and surrounded by darkness.
This is a pre-digital work and was produced by photocopying my entire body and using the photocopies to produce an expressive collage.

Memories 

Photos by

Isabella Akaleigh Jones

This is my grandmother Rosemary, who has the condition of dementia. Dementia is often perceived as a condition of only loss and deterioration. However, Rosemary lives each moment, basking in it’s light, and the emotions from each new lived experience colour her wellbeing. Dementia is not the end of creating memories.

Strength and Fragility

Photo by

Naomi Reiter

Facing away from the world, this young 12 year old is in a dark place, struggling with depression and anxiety caused by repeated bullying, her beautiful horse standing behind her. He is her emotional support; strong and majestic, he looks to the viewer reassuring that he is there for her. Her fragile state is revealed only by the single tear that runs down her cheek.