| Brian Cassey Photographer Cairns Australia

TIFA Winners Announced …

April 12, 2018April 4, 2018

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 …

August 1, 2023February 26, 2018

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

… the quiet before the opening …

… but it soon got a little busy …

… unmistakably Nikon’s Julie Kimpton on the right …

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

One Closes … Another Soon to Open …

February 6, 2018January 30, 2018

Today … Tuesday 30th January … was the last day at The Tanks, Cairns for my “A Photographer’s Life – Part One exhibition … tomorrow is the day the works come off the walls and the cameras and photographic hardware get packed away (somewhere!). Thanks to all for the wonderful feedback …

Coincidentally, I spent today preparing the image files for my next exhibition soon to open at The Fox Gallery in Melbourne.

Thanks to ‘Fox’ gallery owner Tom Goldner … my work from inside the Manus Island asylum seeker detention centre in Papua New Guinea following it’s closure by the Australian government with over six hundred refugees still desperately ensconced therein … will be unleashed on a Melbourne audience from the 24th February. “Inside Manus Detention Centre” will consist of seventeen images documenting the plight of those from the Middle East, Africa and Asia who have faced years long incarceration at the will of the Australian government … with still no future on the horizon.

The images in question were made on assignment for News Corp with journalist Rory Callinan. We had been on Manus for less than a day when we found ourselves on a small local boat headed for Australia’s ‘closed’ Lombrum detention centre … a trip made by several refugees and local boatman to smuggle foods and medicines into the camp. Our time ‘inside’ was brief but long enough to show the desperate situation inside the camp where there was no food, water, medication, power or services. Weeks later all six hundred odd were forcibly removed.

Whilst I’m at the ‘Fox’ I will also be presenting a two hour talk and slide show (on Saturday the 24th) based on my “A Photographer’s Life” work … and you can secure a spot by visiting here … https://www.thefoxdarkroom.com.au/product/artist-talk-brian-cassey-photographers-life/ .

Below I’ve posted a couple of images from “Inside Manus Detention Centre” which runs at ‘The Fox Gallery” Kensington, Melbourne from grand opening eve on 23rd February (to which you are invited) till 4th March.

"Inside Manus Detention Centre" - The Fox Gallery Melbourne - by Brian Cassey

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

April 5, 2018November 13, 2017

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 …

November 12, 2017November 10, 2017

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/