2018
Result
Winner
Category
Nikon-Walkley Portrait Prize
Publications
Illawarra Mercury
Sylvia Liber
“Desire for Change”
Sylvia Liber says she learned a lot about the concept of being transgender through a project that included this powerful image of South Coast couple Charlotte and Aley. This image’s unwavering gaze reminds us that the best way to learn from and respect the trans community, is to see and hear them as they want to be seen and heard. The judges praised the raw intimacy of this portrait, its engaging composition and its guts. “It’s brave, from both the subject and the photographer.”
“I wanted to tell the story in an intimate way,” Liber explained in her entry statement, “manifesting the raw passion and true love that Charlotte and Aley share. Showing, through my eyes, the torment and agony they had both been through over the years. And I wanted to push the social boundaries to challenge and educate our community. Love is love.”
Sylvia Liber: “Charlotte and Aley are two people on very different journeys of self-discovery. After years of torment, they come together in a love that transcends gender. Charlotte describes herself as trans, agender with a hint of girl, while Aley identifies as a transgender female who was assigned male at birth.”
