Merilyn Fairskye – Focus Infinity IV (4.41am, 09 May 2024, Maralinga village
The Australian Photographic Society (APS) and the Muswellbrook Regional Arts Centre (MRAC) have announced Merilyn Fairskye’s Focus Infinity IV (4.41am, 09 May 2024, Maralinga village), 2024, (pictured above) as the winner of the 2024 Mullins Conceptual Photography Prize. The prize includes a $30,000 prize and acquisition of the work, which will join all previous MCPP winners in MRAC’s permanent collection of post-war contemporary paintings, ceramic and photography.
The concept statement for the winning work reads:
“Focus Infinity IV is part of my ongoing Long Life Project (https://www.longlifeproject.com). My current work looks at Australia and its looming nuclear future. On a recent visit to Maralinga, site of British nuclear tests in the 50s and 60s, I wanted to see what would be revealed if I photographed in complete darkness. My settings were f/1.4, 00:30 exposure, ISO 1600, focus ∞. Mid-exposure, I moved my camera from sky to earth.”