Museum of Australian Photography
Justine Varga has been announced as the recipient of an honourable mention in the 2026 Bowness Photography Prize for her work ‘Concussion # 1’.
Having suffered a concussion, Justine Varga elucidates the experience in her artist statement: “after many months of convalescing, I finally felt well enough to attempt to give photographic form to my experience. Enacting self-expressive gestures as a series of marks on my negative, and then printing the resulting record at immersive scale, I seek to share not how concussion looks, but how it feels.”
The judging panel, consisting of artist + Bowness Photography Prize winner (2014) Petrina Hicks, Natasha Bullock (Senior Curator Photography, NGV) and Anouska Phizacklea, MAPh Director, selected one winner and two honourable mentions. They observe: “Justine Varga's photograph has a quiet intensity, a work that rewards prolonged looking', and note that the artist's experience is 'echoed here in the fluidity, depth of colour and delicate painterly quality of the surface."
Pictured: Justine Varga, Concussion #1, 2026, chromogenic print, 186 x 136 cm
We’re delighted to share that Justine Varga has been announced as a finalist in the 2026 Bowness Photography Prize.
Now in its 21st year, The William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize is an important annual survey of contemporary photographic practice in Australia and one of the most prestigious prizes in the country. The winner takes home $50,000, with a $10,000 Wai Tang Commissioning Award, two $2,500 honourable mentions and a $5,000 RACV People's Choice.
The 21st Bowness Photography Prize, curated by MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea, will be presented from 12 September to 8 November 2026 at the Museum of Australian Photography, Wheelers Hill. Opening night and winner announcement on Thursday 17 September.
Pictured: Justine Varga, Concussion #1, 2026, from the series ‘Concussion’, chromogenic print, 186 x 136 cm. Image courtesy of the artist