Lillian O’Neil has been named as winner of this year’s prestigious William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize for an enigmatic large-format collage of found photographs.


©  Lillian O’Neil; ‘Drawing to a close’ (2020), the winning image in the 2021 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize.

The winning image was chosen by the judging panel – acclaimed artist Del Kathryn Barton, MGA Director Anouska Phizacklea and Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Australia, Karen Quinlan AM – from a short-list of 52 works, selected from more than 730 entries to this year’s competition. It was created from photographic material found in pre-digital books and magazines, with the elements stitched together so as to prompt multiple interpretations and draw connections between subject matter and sensation.

An exhibition of the short-listed works is on display at the Monash Gallery of Art. Click here to view the images on display.