The Ballarat International Foto Biennale presents the GradFoto 2023 exhibition, showcasing twenty-one finalists from ten universities across Australia and for the first time, New Zealand. This award celebrates the artistic excellence of graduating students, open to emerging contemporary artists and graduating students from selected Australian institutions whose artistic practice uses photography as its primary medium.

Girl Portraits (2023) by Ella Cuming from Queensland College of Art was voted the People’s Choice winner receiving a $500 prize.

Ella Cuming uses analogue portraits to tenderly explore the societal effects of womanhood. Her nostalgic tones and heavy emphasis on colours allow her to intimately unpack the sadness and pain of womanhood in a reflective manner rather than confronting. The vulnerability and trust in her images bring a sense of connection. Working on her artistic practice since she was a girl, Cuming draws heavily on her own experiences and relationships to create photographic work which is not only about young women, but for them.

About the series

My photographs intimately explore the complexity of the female experience, specifically the experiences of young women. They consider the duality of joy and loss that are intrinsically connected to womanhood through vulnerable analogue portraits. The photographs also navigate the voyeurism and performativity that traverse both photography and womanhood. The indexical nature of the work places importance on connection and reflection for both myself and the viewer. I value vulnerability as a strength and have relied on a methodology of trust and collaboration between myself and my sitters to foster a body of work that attempts to make the unseen seen. This body of work offers a gentle lens to reflect on both the soft and harsh layers of young womanhood.