Silver and Bronze in Moscow International …

… yippee … at the risk of overdoing it … announced last week  … two Silver Awards and a Bronze Award in the 2021 Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA).

‘The Yarrick Family of Kunhanhaa’ (Mornington Island) won ‘Silver’ in the People category (the images first International recognition) … whilst ‘Tears For George Floyd (8 Minutes and 46 Seconds)’ also won ‘Silver’ in Editorial (it’s third International recognition). ‘The Kids of Ali Curung’ … made in the remote township of the Northern Territory last year … was awarded the ‘Bronze’ award in the People category (it’s second International recognition).

The images will be shown at Russian and international art communities in galleries and art centres. (TBA) and can also be found in an expansive online ‘E- Book’ at … https://www.moscowfotoawards.com/2021_MIFA_eBook.pdf

The Moscow awards has been a rewarding regular over the years since 2014.

Happy Days …

Images © Brian Cassey

Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA) - Silver Award - 'The Yarrick Family of Kunhanhaa' by Brian Cassey

Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA) - Silver Award - '8 Minutes & 46 Seconds - Tears For George Floyd' by Brian Cassey

Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA) - Silver Award - 'The Kids of Ali Curung' by Brian Cassey

‘Carol’ Amongst Big Handful at 16th International Pollux Awards …

… was delighted to receive the news that a handful of my images had been recognised across four categories of the International ‘16th Edition Pollux Awards’.

Great News … and wherever you are ‘up there’, Carol Mayer, you’re obviously still touching people ‘down here’ ! My portrait of Carol … “The Skin I’m In” (top below) was selected as the Winner of the ‘Portrait’ category of this years long running Pollux photography awards. 

Fitting and timely that Carol’s image is still making a difference and empowering burns survivors months after her so untimely demise to cancer late last year. Also recognised in the ‘Portrait’ category was “Aurukun – Generations” (bottom left) which received an ‘Honourable Mention’. 

My work also received TWO ‘Third Place’ awards … “8 Minutes and 46 Seconds” in the ‘Segregation & Human Rights’ category (middle left) … and … “Tomotaro on the Block” in the ‘People’ category (middle right).

Rounding off the five awards was “Kate – Waiting For Her New Breasts” in the ‘Editorial & Current Affairs’ category (bottom right).

All these five images are now eligible to be exhibited physically ‘on the wall’ at the 6th edition of the Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography to be held in September 2021 at the FotoNostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain … and appear in the ‘FotoNostrum’ print and digital magazines.

Sadly … there’s no chance of my attending and seeing the work at the grand opening event and artists ‘gala’ dinner in Barcelona in September … for an obvious variety of reasons.

Images © Brian Cassey @brian_cassey

16th Pollux Awards - International Photography Awards - Winners images by Brian Cassey

‘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

Covid-19 & Cairns … Economy in Freefall …

Reliant for a large part on the regular influx of now non-existent International tourists, the year long pandemic has seen Cairns suffering economically disproportionately compared with other parts of Australia.

As the Australian Government initiated JobKeeper support scheme comes to an end this month, Cairns immediate future looks bleak despite a Federal attempt at assistance via subsidised airfares and loans.

It isn’t a ‘pretty’ story for my long term home town … the current situation is dire …  but it did mean a nice gig for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.

Many of my images made last week were used to illustrate the effects and hardships of the current desperate financial situation in Cairns and district as a result of the total loss of International tourism.

A pic gallery of thirteen of my images ran online (the SMH link is here … https://www.smh.com.au/…/cairns-tourism-on-the-ropes…) … whilst the main story variously in print and online (by Brisbane Times journalist Matt Dennien) was accompanied by more of my pics … herehttps://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/trouble-in-paradise-covid-leaves-a-cloud-hanging-over-the-tropics-20210312-p57a3g

It seems it is going to be a long, long time till Cairns recovers from the body blow caused by the loss of International tourists during the current pandemic and Matt’s story is well worth a read.

Below are just a few of my images the former Fairfax (now ‘Nine’) publications used … from top … a lone swimmer at the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon once crowded with International and Australian tourists … owner of Traveller Oasis backpackers Gabriel Thallon cleans his pool as lone International ‘guest’ Rina Yamauchi takes the sun … the locked and deserted Cairns International Terminal at Cairns Airport … crew of Passions of Paradise reef vessel Phoebe and Kirsty wash the boat down after a day on the GBR with few paying customers … and one of numerous closed businesses in Cairns CBD

Images © Brian Cassey

Covid-19 and the Pandemic in Cairns, Australia ... images by Brian Cassey
Covid-19 and the Pandemic in Cairns, Australia ... images by Brian Cassey
Covid-19 and the Pandemic in Cairns, Australia ... images by Brian Cassey
Covid-19 and the Pandemic in Cairns, Australia ... images by Brian Cassey
Covid-19 and the Pandemic in Cairns, Australia ... images by Brian Cassey

“Paper Tigers” … Being There … and Not Being There …

Only TWO more days (Saturday and Sunday) to see the “Paper Tigers” exhibition … the work of sixty of Australia’s fine photojournalist contingent … on the walls of the ‘Twenty Twenty Six Gallery’ in Bondi, Sydney.

The Head On Photo Festival “Paper Tigers” featured exhibition was a year in the making … and made it’s debut strictly ‘online’ earlier in May this year. Covid postponed the physical exhibition of works … until now.

Each of the sixty contributors supplied images they seemed most appropriate … and Head On’s founder/director Moshe Rosenzveig OAM and myself curated the selections down to a single image from each. The result is a fascinating multi faceted collection of Australian photojournalism from across the decades.

To quote the Head On web site … “The exhibition celebrates photojournalism at a time when the need for truthful journalism has never been more critical and takes us back to critical moments through recent Australian and world history, and the images by which we remember them”.

These are the sixty so talented contributors that made it happen … Alex Coppel, Andrew Chapman, Angela Wylie, Ashley Crowther, Barbara McGrady, Ben Bohane, Brendan Beirne, Brian Cassey, Chris Hopkins, Craig Golding, Craig Greenhill, Darrian Traynor, Dave Tacon, David Dare Parker, David Gray, Dean Lewins, Dean Sewell, Delly Carr, Eddie Safarik, Edwina Pickles, Gerrit Fokkema, Glenn Campbell, Glenn Lockitch, Grant Wells, Helga Salwe, Ilana Rose, Jaime Murcia, Jake Nowakowski, Janie Barrett, Jessica Hromas, John Donegan, John French, Justin McManus, Louise Kennerley, Luis Ascui, Mark Crusty Baker, Martine Perret, Max Mason Hubers, Meredith O’Shea, Merv Bishop, Michael Amendolia, Michael Coyne, Moshe Rosenzveig, Nic Walker, Nick Moir, Nicola Bailey, Noel Butcher, Paul Blackmore, Penny Stephens, Peter Solness, Richard Wainwright, Rick Stevens, Rob Maccoll, Robert McFarlane, Simon O’Dwyer, Stephen Dupont, Sylvia Liber, Tim Page, Tobias Titz and Tracey Nearmy. Thank You All …

Thanks to Covid-19, many could not make it to the exhibition opening last Saturday in Bondi. However, ‘Paper Tigers’ contributor photojournalists Dean Sewell, Ben Bohane, Mark ‘Crusty’ Baker, Tracey Nearmy, Glen Lockitch, Michael Amendolia and, of course, Head On’s Moshe Rosenzveig were present to celebrate … lucky them ! The former curator of photography at The State Library of New South Wales, Alan Davies, was also on hand at the opening to cast his experienced eye over the works.

I was really gutted that I couldn’t make the journey to Bondi myself … and to visit Paddington Reservoir Gardens where my other exhibition “Me Too … Where The Boys Are … The Girls Are” was also ‘on the wall’ as part of the photo festival. Them’s the breaks … but more is in the pipeline for this significant and historic exhibition down the track.

Time is now running out … just two days to take in “Paper Tigers” at ‘Twenty Twenty Six Gallery’ in Bondi … go see it.

 

NB … For the many that couldn’t (or can’t) make it to the physical exhibition of works on the wall, the “Paper Tigers” book (see bottom image below) is available to order on the Head On Photo Festival web site at … https://www.headon.com.au/product/paper-tigers-book

Image © Brian Cassey … my work ‘Abdullatif’ with Alan Davies and Glen Lockitch – top © Michael Amendolia … gallery panorama © Michael Amendolia … bottom two (including “Paper Tigers” book) © Moshe and the Head On Photo Festival

'Paper Tigers' - Head On exhibition of Australian photojournalism - co-curated by Moshe Rosenzveig & Brian Cassey

'Paper Tigers' exhibition of Australian photojournalism - co-crated by Brian Cassey & Head On's Moshe Rosenzveig

'Paper Tigers' exhibition of Australian photojournalism - co-crated by Brian Cassey & Head On's Moshe Rosenzveig

'Paper Tigers' exhibition book - published by Head On Photo Festival - by Moshe Rosenzveig & Brian Cassey

 

 

East Side FM Interview … Photojournalism, ‘Paper Tigers’ & ‘Strippers’

As a news piece and as a promo for the 2020 “Works on the Wall’ section of the Head On Photo Festival, I had the pleasure of a lengthy ‘on air’ chat with East Side FM’s journalist Paul Neeson. It aired on the Sydney radio station on the Monday morning of the 9th November … the same time as my personal Head On exhibition “Me Too … Where The Boys Are … The Girls Are” (see the blog post and images here) opened to the public in Reservoir Gardens, Paddington.

Paul asked all the right questions … and the subjects discussed crossed photojournalism, portraiture, my work and my current exhibitions “Me Too … (etc)” … and “Paper Tigers” … the exhibition and book on the work of sixty Australian photojournalists that I co-curated with Head On’s Moshe Rosenzveig. “Paper Tigers” is on the walls of the new “Twenty Twenty Six Gallery” in Bondi until the 22nd of November.

The interview, which runs for a little over twenty one minutes, can be accessed here below.

Two Exhibitions in Sydney … (If Only I Could Get There !) …

Moshe Rosenzveig and the crew of the 2020 Head On Photo Festival performed miracles earlier on this year as Covid-19 tightened it’s grip on Australia and the planet. They transformed a massive ‘venue’ based photography festival into the World’s first ‘On Line’ photo festival in a matter of just a few short weeks … and opened on time in the first weeks of May. The ‘On Line’ awards, artist talks, photography workshops and panel talks were aired on screens to thousands watching and listening around the planet and across Australia. An amazing effort …

With gallery spaces ‘out of bounds’ due to Covid the more traditional (and aesthetically more pleasing) ‘photographs on walls’ exhibitions reluctantly had to be put on ‘hold’.

I had two involvements in this years Head On ‘On Line’ photo festival … a personal exhibition “Me Too … Where The Boys Are … The Girls Are” (a photo essay on the performance of male strippers and their female audience) … and the co-curation (with Moshe Rosenzveig) of a project close to the heart … “Paper Tigers” … a collection of the work by sixty of Australia’s finest photojournalists. Both received large views on-line.

Now six months later, as Covid cases thankfully take a massive dive, these two exhibitions and work by many others are showing physically ‘on the walls’ (and fences) in numerous galleries and at venues around Sydney. Brilliant … and astonishing work by Head On !

Very sadly … I can’t ‘B’ well get there ! My Queensland Premier has stood fast to her decision that the borders between the Sunshine State and Sydney will remain firmly shut till (extremely annoyingly) at least the first of December … just days after these exhibitions close. The way of the World in 2020 … but I’m still gutted …

My exhibition “Me Too … Where The Boys Are … The Girls Are” opened yesterday on the wall at the fabulously atmospheric venue of the Paddington Reservoir Gardens … and runs there alongside four other great exhibits until the 29th of November. Photographer colleague, mate and gentleman Michael Amendolia went out of his way to lessen the blow of not ‘being there’ by sending me a raft of images of my exhibition in place (below). Thanks Michael !

The “Paper Tigers” exhibition (and the launch of the “Paper Tigers” book) opens at the new ‘Twenty Twenty Six Gallery’ in Bondi tomorrow … with an official opening this Saturday afternoon. Many of my Sydney based colleagues will be attending (lucky them) … whilst us interstate contributors will have to be patient until further opportunities eventuate down the track.

There will be more on ‘Paper Tigers’ … how it came about, what it contains and why it is important … a little later when I receive some images from colleagues who get to attend the gallery …

In the meantime … Paul Neeson from Sydney radio station East Side FM and I had an ‘on air’ chat about my work and both these exhibitions and the Head On Photo Festival in general. It runs for just over twenty one minutes and can be listened to here below. There is also an online text story on “Me Too … Where The Boys Are … The Girls Are” here.

 

Damn that bloody virus !

Images © Brian Cassey (two pics from “Me Too … “Where The Boys Are … The Girls Are” and my “Paper Tigers” image “Abdullatif” … & … Michael Amendolia (top 2 General Exhibition pics)

Head On Photofestival 2020 - Paddington Reservoir Gardens - "Me Too - Where The Boys Are ... The Girls Are" - exhibition of work by Brian Cassey

Head On Photofestival 2020 - Paddington Reservoir Gardens - "Me Too - Where The Boys Are ... The Girls Are" - exhibition of work by Brian Cassey

Head On Photofestival 2020 - Paddington Reservoir Gardens - "Me Too - Where The Boys Are ... The Girls Are" - exhibition of work by Brian Cassey

Head On Photofestival 2020 - Paddington Reservoir Gardens - "Me Too - Where The Boys Are ... The Girls Are" - exhibition of work by Brian Cassey

Head On Photofestival 2020 - Twenty Twenty Six Gallery - Bondi - "Paper Tigers" - exhibition of work by 60 Australian photojournalists co-curated by Brian Cassey

Covid, Adani, Global Climate Catastrophe … CNN and Me …

… great to be part of a massive Covid-19 story of global importance just published on CNN.

The story entitled ‘The One Chance We Have’ delves into the story of how … during the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent confusion and devastation of the global economy … fossil fuel producing countries are injecting taxpayer money into propping up polluting industries that are hastening an earlier climate catastrophe. 

The story uses vignettes from four fossil fuel producing countries … Canada, Poland, Australia and India … to substantiate the premise that ‘The pandemic gave the world a golden opportunity to fix the climate crisis. We’re about to waste it.’

My work appears in the ‘India’ segment … and comprises six of the images I made just on a year ago in Chhattisgarh … set amongst a lengthy story (somewhat based on my original words but ‘updated’) on the destruction of the Hasdeo Arand forest and the Gond tribal population by Indian mining giant Adani hand in hand with Modi’s government.

My images and words from Chhattisgarh have previously been published in The Guardian (here and here), in Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera (here) and elsewhere.  Very gratifying to see the work picked up again.

I must stress that this current story on CNN is a great and incredibly important piece of journalism and is well worth a look (at the images) and a good long read. Please do … there is far too much in the story to go into here and the implications for the future of the planet are chilling. 

I’m joined pictorially in the piece (in the ‘Australian’ section of the story) by Aussie based colleagues David Maurice Smith and Matthew Abbott. Hi Guys !

Thanks CNN for the important story and for using my work to help illustrate it. Thanks yet again to my fixer/friend Srienivas Akella from Mumbai … brilliant travelling with you.

Below … images (3 of my 6) © Brian Cassey … from the CNN story ‘The One Chance We Have’.

CNN story 'The One Chance We Have' on Covid-19 pandemic hastening a global climate catastrophe - images by Brian Cassey

CNN story 'The One Chance We Have' on Covid-19 pandemic hastening a global climate catastrophe - images by Brian Cassey

‘Portrait of Humanity’ in Space & SLQ ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’

A great couple of weeks of interviews regarding my work on various media … ABC, Radio 4CA, Channel Ten’s ‘The Project’ and a 20 minute online video interview at the State Library of Queensland.

The subject matter in most was the 2020 ‘Portrait of Humanity’ short list and award … and the projection in ‘space’ of two of my selected images. The portrait of Carol Mayer … ‘The Skin I’n In’ … was the centre of attention in many … whilst the other selected pic ‘Ramnami’ also received a mention in some.

First off was ABC Far North correspondent  Sharnie Kim who did a great job on her ‘Portrait of Humanity’ story for publication on the ABC web site at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-12/carol-mayer-photograph-shortlisted-in-portrait-of-humanity/12335282 .

Radio followed up  … Sarah Speller interviewed myself ‘live’ on ABC Breakfast Far North (at not the best time very early on a Saturday morn) … and then followed that with another recorded segment on her ‘Sarah’s Spot’ on Cairns Radio 4CA a few days later. If you fancy … here (below) are Sarah’s two radio interviews (roughly near six minutes each).

ABC Breakfast Far North – Radio Interview ‘Portrait of Humanity’ – 5.50

 

Sarah’s Spot – 4CA – Radio Interview ‘Portrait of Humanity’ – 5:52

 

Then TV … a piece on the top rating Channel Ten news program ‘The Project’,  thankfully centred on the my amazing subject burns survivor Carol Mayer. Lisa Wilkinson opened ‘The Project’ with the news of the selection of my pic of Carol in the 2020  ‘Portrait of Humanity’ … and I later had a cameo in the program as Carol otherwise enthralled the presenters and audience . The show featured a total of nine of my Carol images … including, of course, the one chosen for ‘Portrait of Humanity’ … and Carol herself was, without doubt, the star of the show.

The show ran for 6:28 and can be watched here …

Carol Mayer on ‘The Project’

 

At the same time I was also asked to be involved and interviewed for the State Library of Queensland’s ‘Behind the Lens’ series as part of their current exhibition ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’. Five of the many photographers who have contributed to SLQ’s headline exhibition were each asked to feature in a series of twenty minute interviews over the next few weeks … and mine was first off the rank. The piece of SLQ’s Anna Thurgood chatting was interspersed with my exhibition images made during Cyclones Winifred, Yasi, Larry, Ita and Ului.

State Library of Queensland – ‘Behind the Lens’ – ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’

More info on these recordings, ‘Portrait of Humanity’ and ‘TWENTY – Two Decades of Queensland Photography’ may be found on my  blog post at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog

 

 

Adani and Gond Images in ‘Corriere Della Sera’ Covid-19 story…

Great to see that my images made in Chhattisgarh, India last year have been given another breath of life to illustrate a Covid-19 related story just published in both the print and online editions of the venerable Italian newspaper ‘Corriere Della Sera’.

I originally made the images and wrote the words around mining giant Adani’s destruction of large areas of the Hasdeo Arand forest in the state of Chhattisgarh, India … and ousting the original Gond tribal peoples from their ancient forest homelands. Two articles were originally published in ‘The Guardian’ … here … and here … and on my blog at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/publications/2020/02/adani-and-the-gond/

However, ‘Corriere Della Sera’ updated the story to be more appropriate for the strange Coronavirus times we are now living in.  Six months makes a monumental difference. Their story entitled ‘Mines or solar energy: the pandemic accelerates the dilemma of the giant India’ … centres on the premise that the onslaught of Covid-19 in India has began a perceived shift away from traditional coal for power production towards solar power. India’s top twenty ‘think tanks’ have together lobbied Modi’s Indian government to utilise solar panels to power the massive rural areas and populations of the sub-continent in place of coal. The plight of the Gond peoples in the Hasdeo Arand forest and their battle against mining giant Adani (based on my original story) are central to their argument.

Obviously Corriere Della Sera’s story is in Italian … and it may be found here … and in scans of pages 12, 13 and 14 of the paper here below. A Google ‘translation’ into English is a little hard to fathom but makes much more sense to me than the Italian: -) … find it here.

Images X 8 © Brian Cassey (all except the solar power image) … publication © Corriere Della Sera, Milan, Italy

 

Corriere Della Sera - Adani, Gond Peoples and Hasdeo Arand Forest story - images by Brian Cassey

The ABC Story on ‘Paper Tigers’ …

A great piece by ABC journalist Teresa Tan on the ‘Paper Tigers’ project curated by Moshe Rosenzveig and ‘yours truly’ … and one of the highlights of the just completed 2020 ‘Head On Photo Festival’.

Teresa interviewed six of the sixty photojournalists who are participating in ‘Paper Tigers’ …  an anthology of contemporary Australian photojournalism. The published piece delved into the personal back story of the images that each of the six had selected for inclusion in the exhibition and a ‘Paper Tigers’ book that is sure to become a sort after volume. The subject matter captured by each of the six was diverse and the stories of how these images came about extremely illuminating. The six photojournalists whose work is analysed in the ABC article are Tracey Nearmy, Nick Moir, Craig Greenhill, Eddie Safarik, Rob Maccoll … and unashamedly … myself :-). Teresa’s story is available here … https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-17/photojournalism-australian-photographers-share-stories/12247936?fbclid=IwAR2wYuO2fPf9ry0Fb57x5MPBsk95MoLhEcoIoKFHmZA79RpQUGIhePfxgv8

The Guardian also did a fine job highlighting ‘Paper Tigers’ at Head On showcasing the work of Martine Perret, Jaime Murcia, Andrew Chapman, Nic Walker, Michael Coyne, Penny Stevens, Tracey Nearmy, Meredith O’Shea, Glenn Lockitch, Eddie Safarik, Ashley Crowther, Janie Barrett, Jessica Hromas, Delly Carr, Dean Lewins and Alex Coppel. It can be found here … https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2020/may/01/paper-tigers-exhibition-australias-contemporary-photojournalists-in-pictures

You can find more details about the origins of the ‘Paper Tigers’ idea and how it evolved on a previous post on this blog at … https://www.briancasseyphotographer.com/blog/exhibitions/2020/05/paper-tigers-strippers-head-on-photo-festival/ … which also lists all sixty photojournalists participating in the project.

The ‘Paper Tigers’ exhibition can be found on the Head On Photo Festival site at … https://www.headon.com.au/exhibitions/paper-tigers   … the Limited Edition book ‘Paper Tigers’ can be purchased from the Head On site at … https://www.headon.com.au/product/paper-tigers-book

Sadly,  the physical exhibition of the work at Paddington Town Hall has had to be postponed … however, it is now planned to have the sixty works on the walls in Paddo in early November. Stay tuned on that one …

Paper Tigers, Strippers … & Head On Photo Festival

… it started with a germ of an idea and took nigh on a year to come to fruition … but “Paper Tigers – an Anthology of Contemporary Australian Photojournalism” is now very much a reality as an exhibition and a book.

My initial idea of a print swap of work between Australia’s talented photojournalists morphed into something much grander after a long chat with Head On Photo Festival director Moshe Rosenzveig OAM.

Moshe enthusiastically grasped the implications of the project … the like of which he confessed had been close to his heart for some years. Our combined plan grew into a featured exhibition of the work of Australia’s media photographers at Paddington Town Hall during this years Head On Photo Festival, a book of the exhibition and an exhibition ‘event’ for photographers to meet, admire their work and swap prints.

So began the task of ‘mustering’ Australia’s talented photojournalists … an ‘interesting’ exercise to invite, confirm participation and collate the collection of work … one image from each. In the end we had to draw a line at sixty.

The list is exceedingly impressive … in alphabetical order … Alex Coppel, Andrew Chapman, Angela Wylie, Ashley Crowther, Barbara McGrady, Ben Bohane, Brendan Beirne, Brian Cassey, Chris Hopkins, Craig Golding, Craig Greenhill, Darrian Traynor, Dave Tacon, David Dare Parker, David Gray, Dean Lewins, Dean Sewell, Delly Carr, Eddie Safarik, Edwina Pickles, Gerrit Fokkema, Glenn Campbell, Glenn Lockitch, Grant Wells, Helga Salwe, Ilana Rose, Jaime Murcia, Jake Nowakowski, Janie Barrett, Jessica Hromas, John Donegan, John French, Justin McManus, Louise Kennerley, Luis Ascui, Mark Crusty Baker, Martine Perret, Max Mason Hubers, Meredith O’Shea, Merv Bishop, Michael Amendolia, Michael Coyne, Moshe Rosenzveig, Nic Walker, Nick Moir, Nicola Bailey, Noel Butcher, Paul Blackmore, Penny Stephens, Peter Solness, Richard Wainwright, Rick Stevens, Rob McColl, Robert McFarlane, Simon O’Dwyer, Stephen Dupont, Sylvia Liber, Tim Page, Tobias Titz, Tracey Nearmy.

When it comes to media photographers Australia is, indeed, a ‘Lucky Country’.

Then … along came Covid-19 …

It has long amazed me how the tiny Head On team (currently Moshe, partner Anita Schwartz, Stephen, Anna and Paula) manage to put together the far reaching and monumental photo festival that it has become. It enjoys and includes contributions and entries from the best around the planet … and a World wide reputation. For a moment Coronavirus threatened all that …

However, Moshe was not fazed … and the massive work of converting the entire festival to an ‘online’ event began. That online event has now been underway for two weeks … and has been revolutionary in it’s presentation of exhibitions, artist talks, panel talks, photo related workshops, award announcements and more.

Paper Tigers has played a significant part in this Head On festival. The exhibition is available … all sixty works by sixty photojournalists … online (a simple registration required), the book ‘Paper Tigers’ (see my book image ‘Abdullatif’ top below) is now available for purchase on the website … and Head On hosted a fascinating online panel talk around the work and Australian photojournalism. It is planned to still show the physical exhibition of the complete work on the walls and host the photographers ‘do’ and print swap at Paddington Town Hall early in November (hopefully post Covid).

Below are just two of the sixty wonderful images that make up the ‘Paper Tigers’ collection. Dean Sewell’s ‘Bruce’ from 1999 and Nic Walker’s ‘Rite of Passage’ from 2014. The other 58 are just as impressive.

Amongst the massive amount of brilliant photography on line in this years festival I was also pleased to present my own little ‘featured’ exhibition. “Me Too ! Where the Boys Are … the Girls Are” showcases my work covering the MenX burlesque group during their tour to Cairns whilst being filmed for a Vice TV show. It shows the interaction between the guys who are performing and doing a job (without much in the way of clothing) and the young female audience who willingly participate. The exhibition may be found online on the Head On website (again with a simple registration) … and I did mange to stumble through an online ‘artist talk’ on the subject for those brave enough or with time to waste 🙂 . (NB – link to recorded ‘artist talks’ will be down the track.) Two of my images from the exhibition (which also should be physically on the wall in November) are below.

Lastly … was also pleased to see one of my most successful images … ‘Generations – Aurukun’ (yes … you’ve probably seen it before but it’s (bottom) below anyway 🙂 ) … selected as a semi-finalist in this festivals Portrait Prize. It’s also included in the Portrait Prize video here at the 1:18 mark.

The Head On Photo Festival 2020 has just a few days left to run. If you havn’t visited yet and you have any interest in photography at all I strongly suggest you visit and enjoy. Moshe, Anita, Anna, Stephen and Paula have done a remarkable job.

Images © … Brian Cassey & Head On (top), Dean Sewell, Nic Walker and Brian Cassey (bottom three).

@headonphotofestival

 

Head On - Paper Tigers - Book - photojournalism - 'Abdullatif' by Brian Cassey

Head On - Paper Tigers Book - 'The Block' - image by Dean Sewell - Oculi

Head On - Paper Tigers - Book - image by Nic Walker

Head On - 'Me Too - Where the Boys Are ... the Girls Are' - image and exhibition by Brian Cassey

Head On - 'Me Too - Where the Boys Are ... the Girls Are' - image and exhibition by Brian Cassey

Head On Portrait Prize - Semi-Finalist - 'Generations - Aurukun' - by Brian Cassey

Dahi Handi & Australian Photography Magazine …

It’s taken a while to happen … but finally very pleased to see a double page spread in the latest edition of Australian Photography magazine showcasing an image I made at a Hindu Dahi Handi event in Mumbai … and my story of how this image came about.

The pic was made back in September ’18 on a working visit to Mumbai which coincided with the annual festival of Krishna Janmashtami … one of the most important festivals in India which celebrates the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, one of the most widely revered gods of Hinduism.

At once a religious celebration and a sport (it was classified by the government as an adventure sport in 2014), Dahi Handi is performed the day after Lord Krishna’s birthday every year on what seems like almost every street in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Teams of up to a hundred young ‘Govindas’ form human pyramids in an attempt to reach and smash a pot … the ‘Handi’ … filled with yoghurt and suspended tens of metres above them. The event is based on the legend that a baby Lord Krishna used creative ways to steal milky treats which were supposedly hung high out of reach.

Two India based good friends … S Anand Singh from Varanasi and Mumbai based former pic ed Srienivas Akella … thankfully joined me as we navigated Mumbai’s manic rail system across town to one of the best Dahi Handi venues. The pyramid building (bottom image) was breathtaking and not without incident … but I kept coming back to an image I made of a ritual performed by one of the teams. One of the Mumbai media photographers passed on a tip to watch out for this ritual performance of togetherness and team work before commencement of their pyramid build. The image was made from the fourth floor balcony of an adjoining residential block. Many teams around the surrounding streets got into serious pyramid building and pot smashing … but only one team seemed to perform this ritual.

The full story and the image itself across the fold can be seen in the Australian Photography March edition available at newsagents across the land … (or you may be able to just about make out the words on the magazine pages grab below 🙂 )

My Thanks to Australian Photography editor Mike O’Connor for the run.

Images © Brian Cassey, & publication Australian Photography magazine

 

Image of Dahi Handi in Mumbai published Australian Photography magazine - 'Behind the Lens' ... image by Brian Cassey

Dahi Handi - Hindu festival image made in Mumbai by Brian Cassey, Cairns Australia based photographer

Silas & Rebecca … Now at the IRIS Awards …

Last post I related that two of my images have recently been selected as Finalists in the Fremantle International Portrait Prize

Now I have just learnt that one of the two has also been selected as a Finalist in the Perth Centre for Photography “IRIS Award” for portraiture … and that is bloody satisfying as it’s a ‘first’ for me.

Here’s how the IRIS Award describes itself … “The Award is an international prize recognising new and outstanding portraiture in photographic art. The criteria for selection focuses on portraits that are unique, compelling and engaging whilst maintaining excellence in photography. Concept, meaning and depth are equally as important as well executed work. Originality is essential and the award encourages work that is evocative and provocative and in some ways may be relevant to the current global cultural landscape.”

This year the award was judged by the highly esteemed and Internationally distributed GUP Magazine (Guide to Unique Photography) based in the Netherlands.

It seems this pic (below) met their criteria … “Generations – Aurukun” of Silas and Rebecca Wolmby and their great grand children. That in itself is rewarding, as the pic … originally made in 2016 during a News Ltd job in the Cape York indigenous township … thereafter languished forgotten and unloved in my archive until I again chanced upon it a few months ago. Since then it’s been around. The pic was Shortlisted and book published in the Magnum and British Journal of Photography ‘Portrait of Humanity’ project … and selected as a Finalist in the FIPP.

Very sadly, the wonderful gent Silas has since passed on. However, I hope to be travelling to Aurukun again in the near future and will make sure that Rebecca and the Wolmby family receive a big copy of the image.

The exhibition opening and prize announcement of the IRIS Award is on Friday 18th October at the Perth Centre for Photography Gallery, 357 Murray Street, Perth … just one week after the opening and prize announcement of the FIPP in Fremantle. WA friends … you are warned … 🙂

Image © Brian Cassey

IRIS Awards - Perth Centre for Photography - Finalist - "Generations - Aurukun' by Brian Cassey

‘On the Wall’ at Fremantle International …

Nice to learn that two of my images have been ‘short listed’ and selected as ‘Finalists’ in the bi-annual Fremantle International Portrait Prize. The two pics will be amongst the other ‘Finalists’ on the walls of the FIPP exhibition and vying for some tasty worthwhile prizes (courtesy of Nikon Australia and others) due to be announced on the opening eve at the historic Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery , Fremantle on the 12th of October.

A total of over seventeen hundred entries were received from around the planet … and the selected ‘Finalist’ works hail from as far afield as Croatia, Hungary, the UK, the USA, Indonesia, Vietnam … as well as from across Australia.

My two works selected are … ‘Tomotaro on the Block’ (a portrait of Japanese paralympic swimmer Tomotaro Nakamura which has been mentioned in dispatches a few times previously … here, here, here and here) … and ‘Generations Aurukun’ (a portrait of Aurukun elders Silas and Rebecca Wolmby with their great grand children Shalona and Keola Wolmby … which was also previously selected as a ‘Finalist’ in the massive World wide ‘Portrait of Humanity’ printed collection and awards).

I’ve attended the Fremantle International Portrait Prize exhibition opening and awards eve on a couple of occasions in the past in 2015 and 2013 … and it’s always a great well presented and thoroughly enjoyable event. Hoping I can make the trek across the continent for it again his year as well …

After the big bash opening eve the exhibition of the selected works will be open at the Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery, 46 Henry St, Fremantle, from the 13th to the 27th October. I’m sure it will be very much worth a visit.

Proceeds from this years FIPP go to help the Arthritis and Osteoporosis WA Foundation and to the Kai Eardley Foundation for Youth Mental Health.

Below are my two selected ‘Finalist’ works … ‘Generations Aurukun’ and ‘Tomotaro the Block’ (images © Brian Cassey)

'Generations Aurukun' - Fin almost Fremantle Portrait Prize 2019 - image of Aurukun elders Silas and Rebecca Wolmby with their great grand children - Shalona and Keola Wolmby by Brian Cassey

"Tomotaro on the Block' - Finalist Fremantle International Portrait Prize 2019 - image by Brian Cassey

Ten Pages in ‘Australian Photography’ …

Don’t often get this sort of coverage so … many thanks to photography journalist Rob Ditessa and the Australian Photography magazine for the great ten page spread in the current April edition.

Rob managed a nice job putting a cohesive touch to the amazing amount of ‘waffle’ that I supplied at his request on the subject of my many years in the news media photographic industry that dates back to my teens.

In particular Rob was interested in the roles that picture agencies had in my progression from a very raw teen with a manual SLR covering British football to the muck and bullets coalface of the major international news stories such as the Boxing Day Asian Tsunami of 2004. (Sadly the pars mentioning my invaluable pic agency mentors such as AP’s Russ McPhedran were a ‘space’ casualty.)

The pages and images look great … with two double page spread photos and other pics amongst the text … and a ‘The Gear’ box detailing the kit I now use that should keep Kylie and Julie at Nikon Australia a little happy.

Sadly (perhaps not!) the text here will be unreadable … and if you have an inclination to read the story and text you’ll have to either subscribe or shell out for a print copy of the mag at your newsagents … (or send me a message and I’ll see what I can do 🙂 )

Images © Brian Cassey … Pages © Australian Photography

12th International Color Awards …

Just a little pat on the back for the pic I made … ‘Tomotaro on the Block’ … (below) … of Japanese amputee swimmer Tomotaro Nakamura competing at the Pan Pacific Para Games in Cairns last year. The image received an ‘Honorary Mention’ in the ‘Sport’ category of the 12th edition of the ‘International Color Awards’, which was announced during a two and a half hour live online ‘Photoshow’ this morning. (and no … I didn’t watch it all.)

‘Tomotaro on the Block’ also recently won a ‘Silver’ award at the 2018 Tokyo International Foto Awards.

The ‘Sport’ category was won by UK photographer Ian Macnicol with a ‘not entirely unachieved before’ swimming image … ‘Honey Osrin’. His image also won Ian the overall title of ‘Photographer of the Year’.

The only other Aussie based photographer to get a mention in ‘Sport’ was adventure photographer Aidan Williams for his dramatic National Geographic published image made in Portugal … ‘Freedom’.

A second image … my pic from Papua New Guinea entitled “Victim of Sorcery – Dorcas” … was selected as a ‘Nominee’ (Finalist) in the ‘Photojournalism’ category of the Awards.

The Awards attracted over seven thousand entries from photographers based in seventy nine countries around the planet.

Below … ‘Tomotaro on the Block’ …  image © Brian Cassey

 

'Tomotaro on the Block' - image by Brian Cassey - winner 'Honorary Mention' 2019 12th Edition 'International Color Awards' 'Sport' category - amputee swimmer Tomotaro Nakamura 

“Victims of Sorcery” … PNG …

Spent a few days … not near enough … with legendary News Ltd journo Cindy Wockner in Goroka in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea working on a story for News360 on victims of sorcery.

Variously named as ‘Sanguma’, ‘Poison’ and other local monikers … sorcery related violence has exploded in PNG in recent years. There is little evidence that the phenomena has a long history. It appears that the crimes are opportunistic using vicious attacks and, indeed, murder … and an accusation of sorcery is a convenient weapon against the vulnerable. Once the victim is tainted with a sorcery accusation the stigma generally lasts for life. Families of those accused also suffer the consequences.

We spoke to and photographed more than a dozen, girls and women, boys and men, who had experienced attacks at the hands of sorcery accusers … but none were as graphic and heart rending as the story we heard (through an interpreter) from sisters Dorcas Numbi Nunugi and Pita Ambane. They and Dorcas’s son Ari were accused of sorcery after a family member died. Dorcas was attacked with an axe and her arm almost severed. She received other axe wounds on her thigh and head. Then she was tortured with iron bars that had been heated in a fire leaving massive scars on her torso and legs.

Her sister suffered a fractured skull from an axe blow to the head and other injuries … but somehow they escaped alive.

Many don’t … their bodies thrown in the river or any convenient hole.

Needless to say, Cindy’s story is compelling reading … but not easy to find … the link is here … www.couriermail.com.au/news/world/evil-sorcery-and-witchcraft-killings-exposed-in-papua-new-guinea-as-victims-flee-villages/news-story/3d7153f581a3f0a7b5ca63bc8a99ead0 … but as it’s ‘Premium’ content it may be inaccessible behind the paywall (alternatively subscribe to the Courier, read, see the pics and watch the accompanying video on your iPad or other device 🙂 )

However … you CAN read Cindy’s story … “Evil Sorcery and Witchcraft Killings Exposed in Papua New Guinea as Victims Flee Villages” … here below.

I’ve also posted (below) … just a few of the images I made whilst covering the story … and have concentrated here on those of Dorcas and her sister Pita recovering from their attacks in a ‘safe house’ in Goroka. I will eventually post a full pic essay on “Victims of Sorcery”.

Images © Brian Cassey

 

"Victims of Sorcery" - PNG - images by Brian Cassey

"Victims of Sorcery" - PNG - images by Brian Cassey

"Victims of Sorcery" - PNG - images by Brian Cassey

"Victims of Sorcery" - PNG - images by Brian Cassey

Sorcery in PNG - "Victims of Sorcery" - News Ltd photos by Brian Cassey

Passion for India … @sandwichlightindia …

Excellent to be invited to be part of another very worthwhile Instagram feed … even if this one does have the initially puzzling name of @sandwichlightindia.

Sandwichlightindia … created by Queensland photographer and ‘Indophile’ Russell Shakespeare  … is a collective platform  for “photographers who are passionate about India” … and the invited membership, including (but not only) very talented photographer colleagues Marco Del Grande, Warren Clarke, Brendan Esposito, Peter Wallis and S Anand Singh, certainly show a love for imagery on the subcontinent.

The catalyst for the name ‘sandwichlightindia’ was explained to me by Russell. Seems he and Varanasi photographer Anand Singh were together on an assignment during the Hindu ‘Festival of Lights’ … Diwali. The pic idea was to portray a certain candle lit location at twilight. When they got to the location at dusk the candles weren’t lit and the light was fading.

Russell heard Anand and other local photographers saying “Sandwich light no good, sandwich light no good” … one even repeating it to a pic editor on the other end of the phone. Seems that the term compared the light to a sandwich … one slice of bread is too dark, the other slice too light … and all the good stuff (balanced and just right light) is in the middle of the sandwich!

… and that’s how @sandwichlightindia was born.

The feed is still in it’s infancy … Russell admits that the name means it’s hard to just come across … but the work and depiction of Indian life makes it well worth a visit and a follow. If you have any interest in quality photojournalism and India I urge you to do so …

I’m also a member of two other high profile Instagram photographer collectives … @everydayclimatechange (addressing climate change issues around the World through imagery … currently 114,000 followers) and @everydayaustralia (depictions of daily life in Australia … 54,000 followers).

Below are a selection of images from @sandwichlightindia by my colleagues … from top © Russell Skakespeare, A Anand Singh, Marco Del Grande, Warren Clarke and Peter Wallis.

 

@sandwichlightindia - image by Russell Shakespeare - on blog post by Brian Cassey - "

@sandwichlightindia - image by S Anand Singh - on blog post by Brian Cassey - "Passion for India ... @sandwichlightindia ..."

@sandwichlightindia - image by Marco Del Grande- on blog post by Brian Cassey - "Passion for India ... @sandwichlightindia ..."

@sandwichlightindia - image by Warren Clarke - on blog post by Brian Cassey - "Passion for India ... @sandwichlightindia ..."

@sandwichlightindia - image by Peter Wallis - on blog post by Brian Cassey - "Passion for India ... @sandwichlightindia ..."

Mumbai … India …

Not long back from a very rewarding stint in Mumbai … India’s pulse …

Worked on a few potential photo stories … some with more success than others … and formed friendships with two great experienced Indian photographers.

S Anand Singh … freelance photojournalist and ‘Mr Varanasi’ … made the long trek from Benares to act as my invaluable fixer. Anand introduced me to Mumbai photojournalist legend Srienivas Akella (Srini for short!). Srini is a former associate photo editor at the Indian Express and was the driving force behind the Solaris Images picture agency. The two of ’em introduced me to members of the Mumbai media photo community …. some of which I found I had ‘connections’ to … and the delights of the Mumbai Press Club. They were also tireless in working through our pretty packed picture agenda.

Anand and Srini guided me through the complexities of the amazing Mumbai urban train system (which it is said moves approximately 9 million people every day) as we traversed the mega city to venues that I may never have discovered.

As I havn’t yet managed to edit all the work that I made in a hectic but thoroughly enjoyable visit … I’ve posted below just a few images from some of those stories we worked on. There’s a pic (bottom) from a far too short, minutes long, visit to a Kushti (Indian wrestling) akhara (would have liked much more time to document properly … despite the fact that many photographers have worked on this before), an image (second from top) from the Dahi Handi festival celebrating a young Lord Krishna, one from a set on dabbawallahs (the men who deliver the cities lunches) … and just one (top) from a pic essay I am very fond of … “The Typewriter Wallahs of Mumbai” … which I’ll post on my web site soon. There will be more at a later date …

Thank You Anand and Srini for making it all possible . Really looking forward to working with you again in the future …

(Stop Press … Srini is planning to use his vast experience of India to organise photo tours for photographers to visit the subcontinent from Australia . Stay tuned for more news on that … )

Images © Brian Cassey

 

"Typewriter Wallahs of Mumbai - pic essay by Brian Cassey photographer Cairns Australia

India Mumbai - Dahi Handi 2018 Pic © by Brian Cassey

Dabba Wallahs - Mumbai India - images by Brian Cassey photographer Cairns Australia

Kushti wrestling - Mumbai India - image © Brian Cassey Cairns Australia

Russ …

It was a kick in the guts … the news that my mentor and mate … photojournalist legend and World Press Photo winner Russell McPhedran … had died in his sleep at the age of 82.

Sounds silly … but I’d never thought of that happening to ‘Russ’. Not large in stature, but massive in character and accomplishments, Russ had a more than significant influence on my career as a photographer. in the late 80’s and 90’s Russell took this brat of a freelance under his wing … as he did with so many other less than experienced photographers … taught me the ropes and trusted me to work on photo assignments of international importance for Associated Press of America (AP).

Just some of those stories were … the tsunami disaster in Sissano Papua New Guinea, George Speight’s coup in Fiji, the evacuation of survivors of the Bali bomb blasts, the exodus of Timor Leste refugees from the aggression of the Indonesians … and the World Economic Forum riots closer to home in Melbourne. There were many more … including a memorable few days in Port Douglas searching for Clinton’s ‘Monica Lewinsky’.

Russ had asked me to rush to Port when the story ‘broke’. It was soon obvious that Monica wasn’t there and wasn’t arriving either.  I rang Russ to let him know. The call went something like this … “OK Brian … can’t hear you … just putting my golf clubs in the car and I’ll be up there in a few hours”.  He was too … his second love after beating everyone to the best news pic was golf.

Before I learned about ‘the wires’ and agency ‘play’ Russell had already made some of the most memorable images of the twentieth century. Arguably the most notable was the image (described by Australian photojournalist and commentator Mike Bowers as the best known news Image ever made by an Australian) of a member of the Palestinian ‘Black September’ terrorist group during the murderous attack on the Israeli athletes during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

There were many more Russ images that circled the planet just like he did during a career that began at The Sun newspaper in Sydney. Wordsmiths have penned many tributes to Russ over the last few days … and tell his story far better than I. Please find a couple of them here … from the New York Times and the South China Morning Post. There are many more on the net …

Mike Bowers made this memorable statement when Russ was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame last November … “Few photographers take a picture powerful enough to enter the permanent consciousness of a nation, let alone become instantly recognizable around the world. Russ has a clutch of them”. Mike’s full tribute is here.

Russ’s funeral on Monday … ‘A Celebration of Life’ … was as memorable as his work and I was honoured to be there to say goodbye. The throng in attendance was a ‘who’s who’ of Australia’s media … including PJ colleagues Mark ‘Crusty’ Baker, Rick Rycroft, Rick Stevens, David Gray, John French, Paul Matthews, Phil Hillyard, Stephen Holland, Verity Chambers, Peter Morris, Patrick Riviere, Gregg Porteous, Will Burgess, Quentin Jones, Paul Lovelace (apols for those missed) … and former Nikon supremo John Swainston who also kindly picked me up from the airport. Russ’s spouse Shirley and former News Ltd Chairman and CEO John Hartigan brought … a rarity at a funeral … applause from all for their telling of Russ ‘tales’. Post event ‘tales’ went on at the Great Northern pub that eve.

Yes … it’s too late now to say but … Russ … I owe you … lots … Thanks … the pleasure has been all mine.

 

Russell McPhedran - Olympic Games 1975

 

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 …

Istanbul … HK Cage Images Feature …

Great to see my images of cage home, coffin home and other lowest cost ‘housing’ residents in Hong Kong get another significant airing … this time at the Zeytinburnu International Photography Festival in Istanbul, Turkey in January.

“Z Foto Fest” … as it is affectionately known for short … is an International photo festival hosted by the Türkiye Fotoğraf Vakfı (Turkey Photography Foundation) and the Municipality of Zeytinburnu on the European side of Istanbul, just outside the walls of the ancient city.

This years theme for the festival is ‘Oxygen’ with the aim of strengthening public awareness on environmental issues through the power of visual arts. Oxygens stated aim is to illustrate “the concepts of ecological collapse, perishing nature, industrial waste, human helplessness at facing wars, environmental issues, destruction caused by immigration and urbanization, accumulating waste from excess consumption of society, global warming and climate change, and comparing challenging and rare beauties of nature.” A big and noble call …

With that end in mind, “Z Foto Fest” contacted me about the prospect of showing my Hong Kong ‘homes’ work … and I readily agreed. Sadly, due to other commitments, I couldn’t travel to Istanbul … one of my favourite cities … to see the result.

The work “Living in a Coffin & Cage Dwellers of Hong Kong” was shown over five days of the festival at the Zeytinburnu Cultural And Art Center alongside other artists work from Russia, Italy, Austria, USA, China and Romania under the umbrella title “Abandoned – Rural – Overcrowded”. Z Foto Fest ends on February 11th.

Below are a selection of just some of my Hong Kong images involved in the exhibit … and a grab from the “Z Foto Fest” site.

Images © Brian Cassey

 

Z Foto Fest 2018 Istanbul Turkey - Hong Kong Cage & Coffin Homes - by Brian Cassey

Z Foto Fest 2018 Istanbul Turkey - Hong Kong Cage & Coffin Homes - by Brian Cassey

Z Foto Fest 2018 Istanbul Turkey - Hong Kong Cage & Coffin Homes - by Brian Cassey

Z Foto Fest 2018 Istanbul Turkey - Hong Kong Cage & Coffin Homes - by Brian Cassey

Z Foto Fest 2018 Istanbul Turkey - Hong Kong Cage & Coffin Homes - by Brian Cassey

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