About

Brian Cassey – Photographer

Long based in Australia’s northern tropical city of Cairns, I was born in London UK – almost with a camera in my hand. (First camera a VP Twin 127 Bakelite camera – 2/6d at Woolworths – first pics were of boy things like ocean liners leaving Southampton)

I spent my formative and ‘interesting’ teenage years playing and photographing football (the round ball World game). My sports pictures, along with a smattering of news, appeared regularly in London’s metro and suburban press before moving to Australia.

Currently working for numerous Australian and International media – newspapers, wires and magazines – principally covering news, features and sport.

Covered, amongst many more, the tsunami aftermath in northern Papua New Guinea 1998, the evacuation of refugees from East Timor 1999, George Speight’s coup in Fiji and the World Economic Forum riots in Melbourne in 2000, the victims of the 2002 Bali bomb blasts, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami disaster in Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar, the category 5 Cyclones Larry (2006) & Yasi (2011) which brought devastation to northern Queensland Australia, and Australia’s detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea in 2013, 2016 and 2017.

I am fortunate that my work has been recognised with numerous awards both in Australia and Internationally – and you can find the images and details on the ‘Awards’ page here.

My Instagram feed may be found here … and Facebook page here …

I am also a member of two of the renowned Planet wide ‘everyday’ Instagram collectives …

@everydayclimatechange (addressing climate change issues around the World through imagery) … and

@everydayaustralia (depictions of daily life in Australia).

The IG feeds may be found  … here (@everydaycliamtechange) … and  here (@everydayaustralia).

In addition I’m a member of the photojournalist collective ‘fotostrada’ … an award winning group of talented & experienced photojournalists based in Australia.

 

EXHIBITIONS

My work has been extensively exhibited in Australia and Internationally … amongst those are …

November 2020 – Curator and Exhibitor – Group Exhibition – “Paper Tigers – An Anthology of Contemporary Australian Photojournalism” (60 works by 60 Photojournalists – exhibition and book launch) – Twenty Twenty Six Gallery, South Bondi, Sydney – Head On Photo Festival

November 2020 – Personal Exhibition – “Me Too ! … Where the Boys Are … the Girls Are …”  – Paddington Reservoir Gardens, Sydney – Head On Photo Festival

October 2020 – Group Exhibition – “Portrait of Humanity” – Exhibition of Portrait Collection ‘In Space’ (and in the volume “Portrait of Humanity Vol 2” published by Hoxton Press)

June 2020 – Group Exhibition  – “Twenty – Two Decades of Queensland Photography”  – State Library of Queensland, Brisbane

May – July 2020 – Group Exhibition – “Percival Photographic Portrait Prize” – Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville

May 2020 – Curator and Exhibitor – Group Exhibition – “Paper Tigers – An Anthology of Contemporary Australian Photojournalism” (60 works by 60 Photojournalists – exhibition and book) – Head On Photo Festival – Online (physical exhibition of works, November in Sydney)

May 2020 – Personal Exhibition – “Me Too ! … Where the Boys Are … the Girls Are” – Head On Photo Festival – Online (physical exhibition of works, November in Sydney)

March – May 2020 – Group Exhibition – “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2019” – Gosford Regional Gallery – Gosford NSW

December 2019 – February 2020 – Group Exhibition – “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2019” – Moran Gallery, Sylvania

November – December 2019 – Group Exhibition – “Portrait Salon” – Photo North Festival, Harrogate Convention Centre, UK

November 2019 – Group Exhibition – “Portrait Salon” – Royal Photographic Society House, Bristol, UK

October 2019 – Group Exhibition – “IRIS Awards 2019” – Perth Centre for Photography Gallery, Perth

October 2019 – Group Exhibition – “Fremantle International Portrait Prize” – Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery, Fremantle

October 2019 – Group Exhibition – “Australian Photography Awards” (APA) – Sun Studios, South Melbourne

September – October 2019 – Climate Change Exhibition – “Every Day for Tomorrow – 내일을 위한 매일” – (exhibition of my work on the ‘Schools Strike for Climate Action’) – Pangyo Eco Center Gallery – Seongnam, South Korea

June 2019 – Group Exhibition – “Moscow International Foto Awards 2019 (MIFA)” – Moscow Photocenter – Moscow, Russia

May – June 2019 – Group Exhibition – “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2019” – Head On Photo Festival – Juniper Hall, Paddington, Sydney

May 2019 – Personal Exhibition – “18 Minutes Inside Manus Detention Centre” – White Rhino Artspace, St Leonards, Sydney

November 2018 – TEDx Alfred – “A Better World” – “Manus Island … Heaven & Hell” – AMREP Theatre, Melbourne

July 2018 – Personal and Joint Exhibition with artist Rick Beresford – “Sunday at Six” – Crate 69 Gallery , Cairns

May 2018 – Group Exhibition – “Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) Winners Exhibition” – ICA Gallery, Chūō, Tokyo

May – July 2018 –  Group Exhibition – “The Percival Photographic Portrait Prize” – Pinnacles Gallery, Townsville

February – March 2018 – Personal Exhibition – “Inside Manus Detention Centre” – The Fox Gallery, Melbourne,

February – April 2018 – Group Exhibition – “National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017” – Devonport Regional Gallery, Devonport, Tasmania

January 2018 – Personal Exhibition – “Living in a Coffin & Cage Dwellers of Hong Kong” – Zeytinburnu International Photography Festival (Z FotoFest) – ‘Abandoned – Rural – Overcrowded’ – Zeytinburnu Cultural And Art Center, Istanbul, Turkey

December 2017 – January 2018 – Personal Exhibition – “A Photographer’s Life – Part One” – The Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns

September – November 2017 – Group Exhibition – “National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017”  – Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Mornington, Victoria

September – October 2017 – Group Exhibition – “The 2016 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition”  – WA Maritime Museum, Perth, WA

August – September 2017 – Group Exhibition – inaugural “Martin Kantor Portrait Prize” – Ballarat International Foto Biennale – Ballarat Town Hall

July – August 2017 – Group Exhibition – “National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017” – Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, Katoomba, NSW

May – June 2017 – Personal Exhibition – “A Photographer’s Life – Part One” – Juniper Hall, Paddington, Sydney – Head On Photo Festival 2017  Featured Exhibition

June – July 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2016” – Moran Gallery, Sylvania, NSW

June 2017 – Personal and Joint Exhibition with artist Rick Beresford – “The Remixes” – The Flying Monkey Gallery, Cairns

June 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Fremantle International Portrait Prize – Retrospective” – Brookfield Place, Perth – & – Team Digital, Epson Print Gallery, Perth

May – June 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Head On Portrait Prize Retrospective – Past Finalists” – aMBUSH Gallery (Here, There & Everywhere) – Woolloongong Central

March – June 2017 – Group Exhibition – “National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017” – National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

April – May 2017 – Group Exhibition – “The 2016 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – Wallsend Library, Newcastle

March – April 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Home” – Contact Sheet Gallery, St Leonards, Sydney

March 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Earth’s Ceiling” – Trolley Studio Gallery – Gordonvale, Qld

February 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Tokyo International Foto Awards (TIFA) Winners Exhibition” – Owada Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

2017 – Selected on the Exhibition Selection Committee for the 2017 “Head On Photo Festival”, Sydney

December 2016 – February 2017 – Group Exhibition “The 2016 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – State Library of South Australia, Adelaide

December 2016 – January 2017 – Group Exhibition “The Best of Blunt” – Flying Monkey Gallery, Cairns

December 2016 – Group Exhibition “The Blunt Edge of Portraiture” Tenth Anniversary Show – Pink Phoenix Gallery, Cairns

October – November 2016 – Group Exhibition “The 2016 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – State Library of New South Wales,  Sydney – and – ABC Studios, Brisbane

October 2016 – February 2017 – Group Exhibition – “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize 2016” – Juniper Hall, Paddington, Sydney

September – October 2016 – Group Exhibition “The William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize” – Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria

July – August 2016 – Group Exhibition “Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA) 2016” –  Na Kashirke Gallery – Moscow, Russia

March 2016 – Group Exhibition “CLIP – Contemporary Landscapes in Photography Award” – Perth Centre for Photography, Perth

March 2016 – Group Exhibition “In Retrospect – Head On Portrait Prize” at ‘Art Month Sydney – Art at Night’ – The Old Rum Store, Chippendale, Sydney

December 2015 – Group Exhibition “The Blunt Edge of Portraiture – Virgin Awards” – crate59 Gallery, Cairns

November 2015 – Video Presentation “Moscow International Foto Awards (MIFA)” – ‘Moving Image Essay’ Winning Short Film – “Eyes – the Soul of a Photograph” – FotoLoft Gallery, Moscow, Russia

October 2015 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Portrait Prize” – Indian Photography Festival – Hyderabad, India

October 2015 – Group Exhibition “Fremantle International Portrait Prize” – Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery, Fremantle

September 2015 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Portrait Prize” – Photoville Photo Festival, New York, USA

August 2015 – Group Exhibition “Unexpected” – Flying Monkey Gallery, Cairns

May – June 2015 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Moving Image Prize” – Brenda May Gallery, Sydney

May – June 2015 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Portrait Prize” – Museum of Sydney

May 2015 – Member of the Head On Photo Festival Team (Sydney) for 2015

May – June 2015 – Group Exhibition “Retrospective – FIPP Portrait Prize” – Epson Print Gallery, Perth

March- April 2015 – Personal Exhibition “The Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman” – Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre, Katherine, NT  (‘Proof: Photo Essays from the Top End’)

October 2014 – Group Exhibition “Faces of Poverty” – 26th Annual Gordon Parks International Photography Exhibition – Gordon Parks Museum Kansas and other venues in the USA

August 2014 – Personal Exhibition “The Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman” – “Taking It Home To Aurukun” – township centre of Aurukun, Cape York Peninsula

July 2014 – Juror at the 2014 “Kellicutt International Photo Show”  – Half Moon Bay, San Francisco USA

May 2014 – Curator and Exhibitor – Group Exhibition “The Genesis Project” – .M Contemporary Gallery, Sydney (Head On Photo Festival)

May 2014 – Personal Exhibition “The Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman”  – Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin (‘Proof: Photo Essays from the Top End’)

March 2014 – Personal Exhibition “The Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman” – The Tanks Arts Centre‘, Cairns

March 2014 – Group Exhibition “Head On – Selected Works” – X88 Gallery, Sydney

November 2013 – May 2014 – Group Exhibition “The 2013 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – venues around Australia

August 2013 – Group Exhibition “Fremantle International Portrait Prize” – Moores Building Contemporary Art Gallery, Fremantle

August – September 2013 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Portrait Prize” – Ballarat International Foto Biennale – Ballarat, Victoria

June 2013 – Group Exhibition “Kuala Lumpur International Photo Awards” – with “Roustabout” – Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

May 2013 – Personal Exhibition “The Aak Puul Ngantam Stockman” – Global Gallery, Sydney

May 2013 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Portrait Prize” – State Library of NSW, Sydney

September 2012 – Group Exhibition “Kellicutt International Photo Show – Vibrant” – Half Moon Bay, San Francisco USA

May 2012 – ‘fotostrada’ Collective Exhibition “Portraits on a Bus” – Global Gallery, Sydney (Head On Photo Festival)

November 2011 – February 2012 – Group Exhibition “The 2011 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – venues around Australia

September 2011 – Personal Exhibition “Cage Homes of Hong Kong” – Gwangju Design Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea

May 2011 – Collective Exhibition ‘fotostrada’ – Global Gallery, Sydney (Head On Photo Festival)

May 2011 – Group Exhibition “The Head On Portrait Prize” – Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney

May 2011 – Group Exhibition “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize” – State Library of NSW, Sydney

May 2010 – Group Exhibition “Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize” – State Library of NSW, Sydney

June 2008 – Group Exhibition “23rd Annual Gordon Parks International Photography Exhibition” – Gordon Parks Museum, Kansas USA

November 2007 – Group Exhibition “The 2007 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – venues around Australia

November 2006 – Group Exhibition “The 2006 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – venues around Australia

November 2005 – Group Exhibition “The 2005 Nikon Walkley Press Photography Exhibition” – venues around Australia

Pre 2005 – Various (and many long forgotten)

 

CLIENTS

Over many years I have been fortunate to have worked regularly for a long list of newspapers, magazines and agencies from around the planet. Below are just some of the more notable.