Pinhead Pluto

BACKGROUND This work contributes to the contemporary photographic field in Australia. Each year the Bowness Prize presents a select number of works that are deemed to be representative of contemporary photography, addressing the ongoing scholarly debate on what is contemporary photography in Australia. Key outlets in which this debate is playing out are within galleries such as Centre for Contemporary Photography, Monash Gallery of and Australian Centre for Photography. The most significant practitioners whose work is a point of departure for my own include Sarah Anne Johnson, Sally Gall and Jeff Whetstone. Key thinkers who have influenced my explorations include Arnd Schnieder and Joan Fontcuberta. CONTRIBUTION The gap in knowledge my work addresses is how photographic processes might be as representational and perceptible as the subject being photographed to chronicle communities in ways that align with their values. This artwork explores ways in which a Deep Evology workshop activity 'Earth as a Peppercorn' can be represented in photographic forms through aligning photographic inquiry to process. The research question could be: How might communities that value healing ways, and are related to the natural environment, be chronicled through photography in an approach that aligns with their core values? The artwork created is a silver gelatin print. Directions for future research is currently being explored via a PhD at RMIT. SIGNIFICANCE Monash Gallery of Art is a leading Australian public gallery promoting excellence, access and education within photography. The gallery develops and preserves a nationally significant collection of Australian photographic practitioners, including Carl Jerrems, Tracey Moffatt, Bill Henson and David Moore. The 2014 judging panel included Director of the National Portrait Gallery of Australia Angus Trumble, Melbourne artist Siri Hayes, and Shaune Lakin, MGA Gallery Director. This artwork received an honourable mention.