‘Paper Tigers’ … on ‘Google Arts & Culture’ …

Delighted to learn that ‘Paper Tigers’ … the compilation of the work of sixty Australian photojournalists curated by myself and Head On Photo Festival director Moshe Rosenvzeig OAM … now has another great published ‘airing’ on the distinguished ‘Google Arts & Culture’ platform (including, of course, my contribution ‘Abdullatif – Beaten Asylum Seeker’ – below – from one of the GA&C pages).

It was a (lengthy) and rewarding pleasure to work with Moshe to collate this project … and wonderful to see it now showing on a new platform amongst significant works from the Worlds leading museums and archives including (but far, far from ‘not only’) MoMa in New York, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Tate Britain in London.

‘Paper Tigers – an Anthology of Australian Contemporary Photojournalism’ has already been exhibited to acclaim ‘on the walls’ at the ‘Twenty Twenty Six Gallery’ in Sydney (during last years Head On Photo Festival) and is also available in book form on the Head On website at … https://www.headon.com.au/product/paper-tigers-book … (if it hasn’t already sold out again).

The ‘Paper Tigers’ works can now be found on the ‘Google Arts & Culture’ platform at … https://artsandculture.google.com/search/exhibit…

Thanks to all the contributing PJ’s (some of which I nagged mercilessly) and the amazin’ Head On Photo Festival team.

#headonphotofestival #photojournalismaustralia

‘Abdullatif’ Image … ‘Nikon Walkley Portrait Prize’ Winner 2016 © Brian Cassey

'Paper Tigers' on the Google Arts and Culture site - curated by Brian Cassey and Moshe Rosenvzeig - image by Brian Cassey

Moran & Head On Photo Festival … Sydney Wrap & Chat …

A packed ten days in Sydney town … (with a quick dash back to Cairns in the middle.)

Plenty of reasons to make the trek to Sydney for the 10th Head On Photo Festival … my “Rain Over Black Mountain” work on the walls of the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize Finalist exhibition and a fantastic prize announcement eve bash …  an ‘artist talk’ to a nice receptive crowd at the Moran Prize Juniper Hall Gallery … hanging and the opening of my “18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre” Head On exhibition at White Rhino Artspace … a glimpse of my Head On Portrait Prize semi-finalist “Tomotaro on the Block” at Paddington Town Hall … AND the opportunity to see brilliant work on many and varied exhibition walls and spend some quality time with many photo colleagues and friends old and new. It all went far too fast …

I could rave on for pages about the all the happenings over the ten days … but will have to abbreviate this just to the (many) highlights … here goes …

The grand opening eve of the 10th Head On Photo Festival and announcement of prize winners … including the camaraderie in the pub afterwards … with photographers David Dare Parker, Tracey Nearmy, Melanie Russell, Tami Xiang, Max Mason-Hubers, John Swainston and many more … pic editors News 360’s Neil Bennett and Fairfax’s Mags King … and photo industry personalities Alison Stieven-Taylor and Sally Brownbill.

A personal tour of the wonderful exhibition “Heat” at the Bondi Pavilion by the very talented photographer and great guy in question Paul Blackmore.

The opening eve of the exhibition of the work of infamous eccentric photographer Helmut Newtown in the gallery of the equally eccentric paparazzo Darryn Lyons … and the artist talks there by David Bowie photographer Masayoshi Sukita (who was celebrating his 81st birthday) and US music photographer Chris Cuffaro … followed by more pub natter with Natalie Grono, David DP, Max MH and more.

In Paddington Reservoir Gardens, the “Photos 1440” exhibition by the SMH with personal ‘commentary’ by pic editor Mags King and staff photographer Kate Geraghty … and also the brilliant images in “Like Last Years Snow” by Oded Wagenstein.

Head On ‘Conversations’ … two of the panel talks stood out … “Recapturing the Audience : Why is Nobody Paying Attention” … and “Truth, Lies and Censorship” (with US professor and artist Jennifer Greenburg outstanding in the later).

The great work of mate David Dare Parker covering the Rohingya story … “Exodus : Rohingya Refugee Crisis Bangladesh” … on the walls of the Delmar Gallery.

The truly memorable eve at the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize opening and 2019 results at Juniper Hall and the spill over into the Imperial Hotel next door (with a whole bunch of great photographers and mates). Great to see “Rain Over Black Mountain” on the walls amongst other finalist works from a host of so talented colleagues (too long to list but you know who you are !).

My little ‘chat’ (‘artist talk’) to a crowd on a pleasant Sunday afternoon at Juniper Hall for the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize.

Fantastic to see my work “18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre” on the walls again … this time at the ‘White Rhino Artspace’ as part of the Head On Photo Festival. A huge Thanks to ‘Rhinos’ Catie and Regula for their help hanging and organising a thoroughly enjoyable ‘opening’ event that attracted many visitors … some of which were old friends/colleagues who I hadn’t seen for many years.

Lastly, but nowhere near least, the fabulous hospitality shown by the Head On Photo Festival crew … both widely across the entire festival and at the Paddington Town Hall ‘Hub’. Moshe (OAM), Anita, Stephen, Paula and all of you … I profusely Thank You !

Below … from top … Images © Brian Cassey … “Rain Over Black Mountain” on the wall of the beautiful Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize gallery, Juniper Hall … White Rhino Artspace owners Catie and Regula hang my “18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre” work on the walls of their St Leonard’s gallery … the Head On Photo Festival crew (with director Moshe Rosenzvieg OAM second for left) during the “18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre” exhibition launch at White Rhino Artspace … my Head On Portrait Prize semi-finalist work “Tomotaro on the Block” displayed at the Head On festival ‘Hub’, Paddington Town Hall.

'18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre' - exhibition at White Rhino Artspace, Sydney - work by Brian Cassey

'18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre' - exhibition at White Rhino Artspace, Sydney - work by Brian Cassey

Head On Portrait Prize 2019 - 'Tomotaro on the Block' - semi-finalist image by Brian Cassey

Inside Manus at the Clarions …

Made a bit of a detour on the way home from Mumbai … via Brisbane …  to attend the annual Queensland media awards … “The Clarion Awards” at the Exhibition and Convention Centre.

It’s always a great night … hosted by the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) … that acknowledges the achievements of the Sunshine States (now somewhat shrinking) media. This year the evening was made a little ‘greater’ for me when awarded a ‘win’ in the “Best Photographic Essay’ category for my work “Inside Manus Detention Centre”.

Although the work has previously been shown as an exhibition (here & here)… it is the first time it has been recognised with an award by, essentially, my peers. Pretty excited and gratified about that.

The work documents the visit of myself and journalist Rory Callinan to the Lombrum Manus Island Detention Centre in Papua New Guinea just two days after it was abandoned by the Australian Government leaving over 600 asylum seekers to fend for themselves with no water, no food, no power … and no services whatsoever. We were the first print media to gain access inside the centre. The work was syndicated around News Ltd publications by News 360.

Below are just a small selection of images from the Winning essay. © Brian Cassey

Thanks MEAA !

 

Clarion Queensland Media Awards 2018 - "Best Photographic EssaY" - "Inside Manus Detention Centre" - by Brian Cassey

Clarion Queensland Media Awards 2018 - "Best Photographic EssaY" - "Inside Manus Detention Centre" - by Brian Cassey

Clarion Queensland Media Awards 2018 - "Best Photographic EssaY" - "Inside Manus Detention Centre" - by Brian Cassey

TIFA Winners Announced …

Seems only a hand full of Australian based photographers get a mention in the ‘Winners list’ of the ‘Tokyo International Foto Awards’ (TIFA) announced quietly today.

The good news is that colleagues and friends of mine … David Dare Parker and Adam Pretty are on that list … and that I also made it with two awards.

David Dare Parker’s great work on the Rohingya fleeing Myanmar into Bangladesh took out Second Prize (Silver) in Editorial General News … whilst Adam Pretty’s excellent and much lauded essay ‘Waterpolo Warriors’ won Gold in Editorial Sport.

My successes are … “The Skin I’m In – II” … Second Prize (Silver) in the Portrait category … and “Beaten Asylum Seeker” … Third Prize (Bronze) in the Editorial Political category. Both images have been in the spot light previously and just some of the earlier relevant links may be found at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/awardsblog/2018/03/carol-does-it-again/https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/2016/10/october-great-month/https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/2017/04/4782/… and https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/2016/12/sensational-walkleys/  .

The remainder of the TIFA Winners were spread right around the planet … with some interesting names popping up.

The Winners works will be hung or projected at the ICA Gallery, ICA3 Bldg E 2F, 3 Chome-4-6 Higashinihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo from May 12th to 16th … with the opening event on May 13th from 3 to 7pm.

Below … my winning images from the TIFA web site … pics © Brian Cassey

 

Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) - Bronze Prize (Third) - Editorial Political - "Beaten Asylum Seeker" by Brian Cassey

Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) - Silver Prize (Second) - Portrait - "The Skin I'm In - II" by Brian Cassey

Inside Manus … at the ‘Fox Gallery’, Melbourne …

Great weekend ‘down south’ in Melbourne … and pretty intense too. Arrived at Tom Goldner’s ‘The Fox Darkroom & Gallery’ from Cairns with less than an hour to spare before the scheduled opening of my “Inside Manus Detention Centre” collection. Tom, his meticulous assistant Leni Fohringer and ‘The Fox’ crew had performed a wonderful job hanging the work and readying the gallery and the (essential) refreshment for the exhibition launch eve.

Tom had been relentless in his desire to show my work from inside the Lombrum asylum seeker detention centre, made just two days after the Australian government closed it down early last November with over six hundred men still inside. Journalist Rory Callinan and myself were extremely fortunate to gain access inside the abandoned camp … built by the Australian government at astronomic cost just a few years back … to document the plight of the hundreds left in the tropical heat with no power, no food, no water, no medicines … and no services.

The evening was excellent and the crowd large, engaged and enthusiastic. Great to have good photographer friends and colleagues Tracey Nearmy and John Donegan in attendance … and also Nikon’s tireless Professional Markets Manager Julie Kimpton. Oh yeah … we even managed to collect a tidy amount of cash from donations during the evening which will be passed on to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.

On Saturday it was back to ‘The Fox’ for a presentation of an expanded ‘projection and chat’ version of my “A Photographer’s Life – Part One” collection … previously hung in Sydney and Cairns … in front of a twenty plus seated audience. Managed to natter about the show accompanied by the projection of over a hundred images for over the two hours of the event … hopefully without boring the pants off the paying patrons too much.

I really do need to sincerely thank a host of people for their support in getting  “Inside Manus Detention Centre” on the wall and a success … Tom Goldner for his enthusiasm, determination and great gallery space, Leni for her boundless energy and organisational skills, Prism Imaging for their fantastic printing of the work, Julie Kimpton and Nikon Australia for their invaluable assistance, Alison Stieven-Taylor from ‘Photojournalism Now’ for her wonderful promotional help, the entire ‘Fox’ team of volunteers and associates … and all those that made it to ‘The Fox Darkroom & Gallery’ on the weekend for the two shows. Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

Also thanks to the  ‘Milk Bar Mag’ and ‘Broadsheet’ publications in Melbourne for their coverage and promotion of the show.

“Inside Manus Detention Centre” is open at ‘The Fox Gallery’, Kensington, Melbourne till March 4th.

Images All © Brian Cassey

'Inside Manus Detention Centre' at the Fox Gallery Melbourne - by Brian Cassey

… the quiet before the opening …

'Inside Manus Detention Centre' at the Fox Gallery Melbourne - by Brian Cassey

… but it soon got a little busy …

'Inside Manus Detention Centre' at the Fox Gallery Melbourne - by Brian Cassey

… unmistakably Nikon’s Julie Kimpton on the right …

'Inside Manus Detention Centre' at the Fox Gallery Melbourne - by Brian Cassey

… Pakistani refugee Ezatullah Kakar on the boat to the Lombrum detention centre with food and medicines …

ABC Media Watch … Manus Island Detention Centre … We Were There …

ABC Media Watch aired a segment on the lack of media coverage when the Australian Government closed the Manus Island PNG Lombrum asylum seeker detention centre leaving over six hundred refugees without water, food, power, medicines or any other essential services. Myself and journalist Rory Callinan were there … and managed to work inside the abandoned camp. Not sure if  the Media Watch coverage was a good or a bad thing!

 

Inside Manus … Abandoned Asylum Seekers …

Last week News Ltd journalist Rory Callinan and myself managed to get inside the now ‘closed’ Australian asylum seeker detention centre at Lombrum, Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

We were invited to join a small band of refugees who were running urgently needed foods and medicines back to the detention centre where near 600 asylum seekers had been abandoned and left with no food, water, electricity, health or any other services by Australia’s ‘closure’ of the centre. The food run was to be one of the last … police next day stopped the boat trips and arrested local boatmen.

Our visit was short and chaotic … we were mobbed by men desperate for help and desperate to tell their harrowing stories of four years detention or to beg for medicines. Conditions were obviously deteriorating fast … despite their attempts to keep basic order and collect water from a makeshift well dug in the camp. Some were visibly ill and others showed signs of mental torment.

I’m not sure how long we spent in the camp but we were soon ushered back to the boat as we were warned the police were coming. But we were there … unlike the overwhelming majority of Australia’s media.

The images were used in News Corp publications including three on the front of The Australian.

A sobering experience … although in depth comment at the moment eludes me …

Have now compiled a photo essay of the images made. Below are just a few from the full essay which is now published on my web site at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/photographs/inside-abandoned-manus/

Images © Brian Cassey and News Corp.

Inside Abandoned Manus - pic essay by Brian Cassey - inside the now abandoned Australian detention centre in PNG where near 600 asylum seekers are surviving without food, water and all other services

Inside Abandoned Manus - pic essay by Brian Cassey - inside the now abandoned Australian detention centre in PNG where near 600 asylum seekers are surviving without food, water and all other services
Inside Abandoned Manus - pic essay by Brian Cassey - inside the now abandoned Australian detention centre in PNG where near 600 asylum seekers are surviving without food, water and all other services

Inside Abandoned Manus - pic essay by Brian Cassey - inside the now abandoned Australian detention centre in PNG where near 600 asylum seekers are surviving without food, water and all other services

‘Armani Refugees’ … Not … !

It’s not too often that your work prompts days worth of National news coverage … but that has been the case since last weeks job for the Daily Telegraph and News Ltd in Papua New Guinea.

The job description from the DT pic desk was succinct … get to Port Moresby and find the first group of refugees that were flying out of Manus Island en route to the United States. In short … I did find them, spoke to them, shared drinks and (almost) a shisha pipe with them … and photographed them at Port Moresby airport as they departed for resettlement in the US.

The images were published page one and page six of the Daily Telegraph (below) … and almost instantly Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton denounced the asylum seekers in my photographs (variously from Myanmar, Sudan, Bangladesh, Somalia, etc) for their dress and refugee status, during a radio interview with Sydney’s Roy Hadley. The term “Armani Refugees” was bantered about.

This par is from The Guardian … “Mr Dutton, asked about an image of those preparing to depart Port Moresby, said a lot of people who ended up in the island camps had not come from war-ravaged areas but were instead economic refugees. They’d received “an enormous amount of support” from Australian taxpayers for a long time. “We have been taken for a ride, I believe, by a lot of the advocates and people within Labor and the Greens who want you to believe this is a terrible existence,” Mr Dutton said.”

So … there you have it … being incarcerated behind numerous massive razor wire topped fences for a period of around four years, being subjected to physical and mental torment despite being classified as ‘genuine refugees’ by government agencies whist also NOT being a criminal … is astonishingly described by Dutton as “receiving an enormous amount of support”!

Let’s get this straight … the clothing of those asylum seekers who I saw depart PNG was either … donated by charities or government … or purchased on the very cheap from Manus Island road side stalls or shops. Armani or Gucci didn’t come into it.

Labor’s Chris Bowen fired back at Dutton … “They are refugees, they’ve been found by him (Immigration Minister Peter Dutton) and his government to be genuine refugees under the (UN 1951 Refugee) Convention – and he might choose to point that out rather than being the commentator on the efficacy or otherwise of their clothing.”

I spent several hours with the group of refugees in their well hidden Port Moresby hotel … and can confirm that their over riding concern wasn’t for fashion or clothing … but for the fate of the hundreds of their asylum seeker friends still facing an uncertain future at the hands of the Australian Government on Manus Island.

It did take several days … but on Sunday Foreign Minister Julie Bishop DID come out to contradict colleague Dutton and confirm that “people leaving Australia’s offshore detention centres for resettlement in the US were ‘genuine refugees’ (source – The Guardian). At least Bishop showed some integrity … too much to expect any of that from Dutton.

Images © Brian Cassey & The Daily Telegraph

Armani Refugees - Daily Telegraph - Manus Island refugees fly to the US - image by Brian Cassey

Armani Refugees - Daily Telegraph - Manus Island refugees fly to the US - image by Brian Cassey

Bi ’16, Hi ’17 …

Thanks to Murray Young for pointing this out (I was across the other side of the planet so initially missed it) … great showing in the first publication of 2017 in the Sunday Mail, January 1.

The S Mail used my image of beaten asylum seeker Abdullatif Almoftaji across the entire front page cover of their photographic retrospective special … ‘2016 Pictures of the Year’ … which also included some mind blowing and soon to be, if not already, ‘iconic’ (for want of a better term) images … including Cameron Spencer’s Getty image of Usain BoltBurhan Ozbilici’s startling AP image of Mevlut Mert Altintas after murdering Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov, Jonathan Bachman’s ‘Black Lives Matter’ Baton Rouge protest pic of leshia Evans … and Mahmoud Raslan’s haunting image of 5 year old Syrian child Omran Daqneesh in Aleppo. All images that will go down in history.

Real Chuffed to have my image part of such an amazing collection.

My pic of beaten 20 year old Iraqi asylum seeker Abdullatif was made at the Manus Island Papua New Guinea police watch house during a visit to document the island’s detainees. In December it was recognised as the winner of the Nikon Walkley Portrait Prize for 2016.

Below is a grab of the January 1st three page Sunday Mail special ‘In the Frame – Pictures of the Year’ (Abdullatif image © Brian Cassey)

Pictures of the Year 2016 - Abdulaftif Almoftaji - Manus Island by Brian Cassey

Pictures of the Year 2016 - Abdulaftif Almoftaji - Manus Island by Brian Cassey

 

21st QMMA’s …

Enjoyed a great night last Saturday at the Cairns Reef Hotel Casino celebrating – with colleagues from the media and advertising industries –  the twenty first Queensland Multi Media Awards.

At the end of a very entertaining evening and after enjoying some great company and many laughs, I left lugging awards for ‘Best Editorial Photograph’ (Ravenshoe Blast Survivor) and ‘Best Photographic Image’ (Manus – Beaten Asylum Seeker).

I’m very grateful to the subjects of my images … former Ravenshoe cafe chef Noeleen Avenell who suffered massive burns and months of painful recovery (which continue to this day) … and young Iraqi asylum seeker Abdullatif who suffered detention on Manus Island at the whims of the Australian government. (As a footnote – Abdullatif, now just twenty one, was recently deported back to Iraq … and in past weeks I have managed to track him down to Turkey where he fled after finding Iraq ‘too dangerous’.)

Below are the two winning images … © Brian Cassey

Thanks to the 2016 QMMA organising committee … and ‘bring on’ the 22nd QMMA’s in 2017 … !

 

Winning Images - Queensland Multi Media Awards 2016 - 'Best Editorial Image' - "Ravenshoe Blast Survivor" - 'Best Photographic Image' - "Beaten Asylum Seeker" by Brian Cassey

Delayed Gratification …

Nice publication this week in a brilliant innovative UK print magazine … ten pages of my images and words in “Delayed Gratification – (the Slow Journalism Magazine)” –  finely orchestrated by DG director Marcus Webb.

The mag takes a refreshing and unique look at the news.  It’s stories re-analysis news events three months after, “picking out what really mattered and returning to events with the benefit of hindsight so we can give you the final analysis rather than the first, kneejerk reaction.”

The classy elegantly designed and printed publication takes the form of a quarterly historical document with “lots of beautiful infographics, which we use to draw out patterns from the quarter and give new angles on stories.”

They proudly boast … “We invest in the best long-form, in-depth journalism in the world, accompanied by stunning images and photo features.”

My work – “Between Heaven and Hell”  – tells in images and words the story of Manus Island and the impact of Australia’s contentious two billion odd dollar Lombrum asylum seeker detention centre on the Papua New Guinea island and it’s indigenous population. It was the result of two visits (totalling three weeks in July 2013 & May 2016) to the island, working as a freelance for News Corp Australia (who kindly OK’d the use of my images in the mag).

Below you can see the ten magazine pages of the article … and if you’d like to read my words I strongly suggest you take out a subscription to what is a truly wonderful magazine! You won’t regret it …

As “Delayed Gratification” say on their web site … “It even smells good !”

Images © Brian Cassey, News Corp Australia & Delayed Gratification

Between Heaven & Hell - Asylum Seekers on Manus Island - by Brian Cassey in Delayed Gratification

Hell or Heaven … Manus …

… it all depends on your perspective …

As intimated in an earlier post … my new pic essay from the work on Manus Island Papua New Guinea documenting the plight of detained asylum seekers and the lifestyle of the islanders – entitled “Manus Island – Heaven & Hell” – is now up on both my personal site and that of the photojournalist collective ‘fotostrada’.

Twenty six images contrasting the idyllic but basic lifestyle that Manus Islanders have enjoyed for centuries with the new phenomena of asylum seekers from the Middle East, north Africa and west Asia amongst their midst. A distinct clash of culture.

The essay may be found on my personal site here “Manus Island – Heaven & Hell” … and on the  ‘fotostrada’ site here “Manus Island – Heaven & Hell”.

Below is just one image from the essay … one that I missed during my edits on the island but found recently whilst doing a recap !

Image © Brian Cassey

Manus Heaven & Hell by Brian Cassey - Manus Island PNG

Manus … Hell or Paradise …

Just returned from a relatively lengthy stint on Manus Island Papua New Guinea working on stories for News Ltd relating to the asylum seekers and PNG’s Supreme court decision … and how the decision and imminent ordered detention centre closure will effect the Manus Island locals.

The PNG court decision on the illegality of the detention of Australia’s asylum seekers has meant that many detainees have now been allowed to mingle freely with the wider Manus population … bringing new tensions and challenges to the tropical island.

I’m not going to delve into the depth of these stories by colleague journalist Peter Michael here … they have been published widely in News Ltd dailies and online.

However, I will say that the people of Manus are endearingly pleasant and most genuinely welcoming … just as they were during my last visit three years ago. A walk around means a constant procession of ‘Good Morning’, ‘Mornin’ or ‘Good Evening’ … and almost everyone wants to stop for a leisurely chat. It’s also just about the only place I’ve been to where … almost without exception … everyone really wants to have their photograph taken. Makes it so much harder to get the ‘candid’ images that I so much prefer.

Can’t say the same about some of the asylum seekers, however … although they did put forward some convincing and heart felt reasons why they did not wish to be photographed. ‘Detainees’ were for the most part pleasant but one could sense the monstrous frustration and desperation that they felt at this point in their forced detention.

In particular we spoke to two young men … from Iran and Iraq … who were just seventeen when they left their homelands to start life afresh three years ago. Both have entertained suicide and self harm … both appeared severely psychologically scarred. One went on a drink and drug fuelled bender while we were there which ended in him being arrested and beaten (see FB post here. I was almost arrested myself when I attempted to pass food and clothing to him in the Lorengau police jail.)

As well as images of the detainees I made many pics documenting the lifestyle of Manus Islanders … and I will roll these out on Facebook and Instagram under the title “Manus Island – Heaven & Hell” – and also work on a full pic essay for the web site. Below are just four of the images from the Manus visit … top is Iraqi asylum seeker Abdulatif in the Lorengau police cell following his arrest and beating … next is an image of locals landing a turtle that they captured whilst it was mating (the other was also captured … sort of two for one) … an image of a child on neighbouring Hawaii Island … and a serene scene of an outrigger fisherman off the PNG  coast.

To the question … Hell or Paradise ? Depends very much on who you are …

Images  © Brian Cassey 2016

 

Manus Island asylum seeker detention - Lorengau police cell - pic by Brian Cassey

Landin a turtle - Manus Island Papu New Guinea - pic by Brian Cassey

A young child on Hawaii Island, Manus Province PNG - by Brian Cassey

Fishing from an outrigger off the coast on Manus Island Papua New Guinea - pic by Brian Cassey

The Other Side of Manus …

“The Other Side of Manus” essay – documenting life on the Papua New Guinea Island near the Equator that is more than just an Australian detention centre for asylum seekers – is now up on my personal web site at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/photographs/side-manus/

In addition it can also be found on the web site of the collective ‘fotostrada’ in ‘Latest Stories’ at … http://www.fotostrada.com/#/latest-stories/the-other-side-of-manus/

The essay was originally made for News Ltd, was published in full in the ‘Australian’ and can be found here.

Below is just one of the images from the full essay.

Image © Brian CasseyBCManusBlog

Manus Island and Papua New Guinea …

Thanks to Kevin Rudd and his new ‘Pacific Solution’ for asylum seekers I got to spend all of  last week in Papua New Guinea and Manus Island for News Ltd.

In Port Moresby we met, photographed and spoke to local Muslims, Bangladeshi shop keepers and local Papuans and listened to their opinions about Rudd’s plan. The images made several spreads in News Ltd publications and front pages of the ‘Courier Mail’ and the ‘Daily Telegraph’. I also photographed the PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill (and one of my images of  him appeared in todays edition of  ‘The Australian’ 30th July.)

Manus Island itself was a revelation. When Manus is mentioned these days most are only aware of the ‘hell hole’ asylum seeker detention centre (at which we managed to get ‘detained’ ourselves for some time!).

In reality Manus is a beautiful tropical island almost on the Equator and home to fifty thousand of the most delightful, beautiful and cheery residents you could imagine. My time on the island (apart from the detention centre incident and difficulties with communications) was an absolute delight.

As well as making images of departing asylum seekers and arriving politicians, I worked on a picture essay entitled “The Other Side of Manus” to contrast the reality of Manus island with it’s perception as just a dismal detention centre.

So far ‘The Australian’ has run the entire “The Other Side of Manus” essay at … http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/galleries/gallery-e6frg8zf-1226687067192?page=1  … and the ‘Courier Mail’ is planning to run it in their print edition later this week.

A great and rewarding weeks work in more ways than one …

Below are some of the images and a copy of one of the front pages – from the top – just three chosen from “The Other Side of Manus” essay of 25, an image of a family living inside a WWII bunker in Port Moresby and the front page of the ‘Daily Telegraph’ on the 22nd July.

All images © Brian Cassey

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