Introduction

Well, what a year it has been! There is no question that 2020 will be remembered for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that has challenged people across the world in ways none could have imagined or predicted. We have all been forced to reset our expectations of life in profound ways – the normal day-to-day has been turned on its head and we have been forced to adapt to unfamiliar, unexpected and confronting restrictions and rules. It has been no different for the 2020 class of Diploma of Photography and Photo Imaging, where the exceptional work of students has been shaped by the problems imposed by the pandemic and the nature of their engagement with the program. Despite this, it is clear these challenges have provided a particular artistic and technical frame for students, a frame through which they have fully realised their end-of-year folios and developed what I think is an extraordinary body of completed work. In considering this 2020 exhibition, it is clear the act of tackling unexpected challenges has driven a level of exceptional creativity. Students have had to solve technical and conceptual problems while developing the themes and narratives that are a feature of this work. This has forced students to develop a particular resilience and willingness to tackle creative problems, which has led to some of the most innovative and inspired folios we have seen in the history of the program. From the Beauty Myth series of Renee Coster that challenges us all to consider preconceptions and biases in relation to female identity and self-image, to an abstract and modernist take on Melbourne suburbia by Alexander Salem, or the profound and beautiful series by Cassandra Hogan that explores her emotional response to discovering her ancestry - the work presented in the 2020 Photo Imaging exhibition by the entire cohort is outstanding. I am in awe of each and every students’ achievements in what has been a remarkable and challenging year. I’d like to congratulate all students and staff on this extraordinary 2020 exhibition.

L L I A M F R E E M A N A S S O C I AT E D E A N, M E D I A , A R T A N D C O M M U N I C AT I O N – S C H O O L O F V O C AT I O N A L D E S I G N A N D S O C I A L C O N T E X T