Open Theme nominee

I created this image in reflection of myself dealing with severe anxiety and depression. The aim of the image is to feel as though you cannot grasp whether the monster is retreating or advancing, but either way it is always there.

There has been intentional manipulation of the image to also not feel complete, disjointed and poorly put together, which I feel contributes in part to my depression.

The creature also conveys my sadness as well as wanting to be accepted.

All elements are photographic in nature and have been used for multiple layers and to create the breaking down of the image.

I am an amateur photographer based in Melbourne, Australia. My initial entry into the world of photography came via landscape and travel photography.

I was introduced to and become a member of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography in 2015. My first entries into the state and national awards resulted in awards for both my travel and landscape shots. This confidence led to me producing art prints of my photos for local markets.

This exposure to the awards environment led me to expand my knowledge and interests and venture further into different genres. I started creating more illustrative pieces based on local wildlife and zoo animals. My first entry of these pieces resulted in being an illustrative finalist [state level] in 2018. My pieces started out very simplistically and over time are becoming more complex, hopefully conveying the issues of conservation and suitability that I find important. A recent piece placed Top 5 nationally in the Australia Photography Awards [Illustrative/Open category 2019].

I've only recently started reaching out and entering different competitions nationally and internationally to build my confidence and feel inspired by more talented photographers.