Warmest congratulations to Sammie Bond, one of our final year Bachelor of Photography students on receiving the Australian Photography Award for the Student Category.⁠

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The winning image was from Sammie’s series, "Underland". This is a body of work which references the ways in which taxidermy was incorporated into 1800s Victorian era fashion. It draws inspiration from 19th century fashionistas, who wore dead animals on their hats, decorating them with bird wings or even whole bodies of dead birds, as well as mice, and snakes. This roadkill couture was made commercially popular by thousands of upper-class women who wanted dead animals on their headdresses. By the late 1800s this bizarre fashion trend was banned due to the impact bird hunters had, killing millions of wild birds, leading many species to near extinction.⁠

 

Sammie told us, “I was surprised to receive the award. It was a pleasure to be shortlisted with other talented photographers. I’m very grateful for the Australian Photography Awards for giving me this offer. I enjoyed every moment of studying my Bachelor at PSC. I love spending lots of time to make an image, it has been my biggest passion and it’ll always be.”⁠

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Well done Sammie, we're very proud of your achievement!⁠