Ashscapes by Ian Skinner
Winner of the grand prize of $10,000

Ian is the second Canberran to win the MCPP following Judy Parker’s win in 2020. He is a member of the Australian Photographic Society and its Contemporary Group. He was also a finalist in 2020. His concept statement for Ashscapes reads:

“The catastrophic fires in Southeastern Australia in 2019-2020 were shortly followed by torrential rain. The rivers and creeks disgorged vast quantities of debris from the conflagration into the ocean so that the waves turned grey with ash,and convulsed with charred remnants. Where the gentler waves reached their zenith on the beaches, small flecks of carbonised vegetation rested in ephemeral patterns suggesting the hills, ridges and valleys of their living selves.”

Night on the Tier by Ian Terry
Winner of the Emergent Designs Award (a $500 voucher)

Ian Terry of Hobart received the Emergent Designs Award (a $500 voucher) for his work entitled Night on the Tier. He was also a finalist in 2020 and is also a member of the Australian Photographic Society and its Contemporary Group. His concept statement for Night on the Tier reads: ‘This image is part of an ongoing project responding to the journeys of George Augustus Robinson who, assisted by palawa (Indigenous Tasmanian) guides, walked through Van Diemen’s Land in the 1830s to persuade palawa still on Country to give up their resistance to the European invasion of their island. In following Robinson with his journal in hand I am seeking to connect the historical with the contemporary, to make sense of my existence in this island of dreams which was stolen violently from its first people. This fractured landscape is where Robinson spent his first night on one conciliation expedition’.

A New Place to Stay by Anne Pappalardo
Winner of the Momento Pro Award (a $250 voucher)

Anne Pappalardo of Brisbane received the Momento Pro Award (a $250 voucher) for her work entitled A New Place to Stay: Anne is also a member of the Australian Photographic Society and its Contemporary Group. She was also a prize winner in 2019. Her concept statement for A New Place to Stay reads: “For 50 years, mum and dad had Christmas holidays at the Tallebudgera Caravan Park on the Gold Coast, Queensland. This place was where our most cherished family memories were made. Age meant they reluctantly but bravely sold their vintage caravan and booked a spectacular high-rise beachfront apartment nearby at Burleigh, with high hopes for this journey toward a new tradition. It rained torrentially and constantly for their two-week stay, and I took these images to reflect the gloom of our spirits and my parents’ remorse at the disappointing beginning to this ‘fabulous’ new holiday ritual.”‍