Images through a graduate’s lens

THE Ballarat International Foto Biennale has celebrated young emerging photographers with the recent announcement of winners in the GradFoto 2021 exhibition.

Showcasing contemporary works of 20 university graduate finalists, GradFoto was chosen by a panel of professional curators and artists, with Meg De Young awarded for her series, The Conversations We Have.

The judges released a collective statement reflecting on De Young’s work.

“There’s something wonderfully deadpan about this serious yet tender series of performed images by Meg De Young,” the judges said.

“The images are playful but also have a sense of underlying tension. There is a mixture of tenderness and distance, mimicry and truth, highlighting the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship.

“The images are absurdly compelling and the theory behind them is dark and tempting.”

Carriageworks’ director of programs Daniel Mudie Cunningham, curators Alasdair Foster, Sunyoung Kim, Talia Linz, Pippa Milne, Talia Smith, and Madé Spencer-Castle, artist David Wadelton, and former BIFB artistic director and CEO Fiona Sweet were the judging panel.

Nineteen universities were represented throughout the GradFoto process including Federation University Australia.

“GradFoto 2021 shows how related institutions and bodies can support young creators who still need strong motivation to pursue their professional career as visual artists,” Kim said.

People’s Choice Award voting remains open while the exhibition is viewable at bit.ly/3LRvC73. Votes can be cast via the same page until Sunday, 20 March.