Finalist - William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize 2025

Izabela Pluta

Artist statement: ‘Seepage (mirage)’ and ‘Coral study’ form a diptych on optical doubt. In the former, a bronze coral sculpture is wedged between creased UV film and a bisecting mirror; hand-printed gelatin silver tones render the set-up uncanny, as halves of object and reflection mis-register and the backdrop’s folds. ‘Coral study’ translates field detritus into monochrome archaeology: a shard of reef, photocopied, to then form a negative whose delicate epidermis is later printed by hand using fibre-based paper. Each procedure hinges on transient light, yet results in a singular image, foregrounding both the coral’s vulnerability and the unstable and iterative indexicality of photographic reproduction.

 

Coral study / Seepage (mirage)

2025
from the series Undulations
gelatin silver prints
36.0 x 31.5 cm (each)
collection of the artist
 

On behalf of the MAPh Foundation, the Museum of Australian Photography is delighted to announce the selected finalists for the 2025 William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize. Judging panel Anne Zahalka, Shaune Lakin and Anouska Phizacklea (MAPh Director) considered over 750 entries, selecting 50 works to comprise the final field.

 

The prize invites entries from artists working with photography. Entries for the Bowness Photography Prize are considered from still photo-based media including analogue and digital photography, produced within the last year.

 

This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the prize, seeing some significant changes that enable a rich prize offering. We’re pleased to announce an increase to $50,000 for the winner and $2,500 cash awarded to two honourable mentions. Shortlisted artists will also be paid loan fees for the exhibition of their works. These changes have been enabled by a substantial philanthropic gift from the Bowness Family Foundation, which reinforces the prominence of the prize and cements the importance of photography into the future.

 

All finalists are eligible to be selected for the Wai Tang Commissioning Award, an initiative of the MAPh Foundation as part of the Bowness Photography Prize. The recipient will be awarded $10,000 in cash, with the opportunity to exhibit a body of work in the following year's Bowness Photography Prize exhibition.

 

One finalist will also be voted as the winner of the $5000 Community Bank Pinewood People's Choice Award. Voting commences at the opening of the exhibition and can take place online or in person.

September 6, 2025
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