Highly Commended: Slow way by Axel Garay

First Nations artist Axel Garay created this triptych of self portraits using a wet-plate collodion process, an early photographic technique invented in 1851 which uses light to expose an image directly onto tin.

“While making these images, I sensed a spiritual quality in the way the alchemical process revealed a deeper dimension of myself rather than capturing a fleeting moment, as does digital photography. There is unfinished business with old photographic technologies, particularly for First Nations artists grappling with the historical photographing of our ancestors using these technologies.”

The close-up shots invite an intimate and intense viewing experience, drawing the viewer into the subject’s emotional world. The monochromatic dark grey-black aesthetic of the tintypes lends the images a haunting quality, enhancing their emotional depth. Each portrait feels deeply personal and is entirely unique.

“These are one-off prints, direct to positive with no negative to replicate.”