Tamara Dean wins 2026 Bowness Photography Prize

Australian photographer Tamara Dean has been named the winner of the 2026 Bowness Photography Prize for her self-portrait Metamorphosis (2025).

Dean used her own body as the subject for the underwater photograph, which explores themes of transformation, ageing, fragility and renewal.

Created in a purpose-built underwater studio, the image was made by Dean working alone, moving between a timer-set camera and an underwater pool while managing flowing fabric.

“It was one of the most personally challenging works I have made,” Dean says. “The vulnerability of the process mirrored the work’s themes of fragility, transformation, persistence, and renewal.”

The photograph also reflects on Dean recently turning 50 and her thoughts on ageing and impermanence.

“I imagined myself unfurling like a flower opening towards light, emerging from a luminous yellow form,” she says.

Two photographers received honourable mentions: Ingvar Kenne for Termite mounds on Marra Country [Limmen NP, NT] (2025), and Justine Varga for Concussion #1 (2026).

The judging panel comprised artist and 2014 Bowness Photography Prize winner Petrina Hicks, National Gallery of Victoria Senior Curator Photography Natasha Bullock, and MAPh Director Anouska Phizacklea. They selected the winner and two honourable mentions from 50 finalists.

The judges praised the three artists for their distinct approaches to photography and the combination of strong concepts with careful technical execution.

Kenne's black-and-white photograph of termite mounds was noted for its tonal range, texture and treatment of the Australian landscape, while Varga's Concussion #1 was recognised for its use of camera-less photographic processes.

For Varga's work, film and photographic paper are exposed to light, heat, chemicals and physical handling, with the resulting marks recording the passage of time and the artist's process.

The 2026 Bowness Photography Prize is the 21st edition of the annual exhibition, which showcases contemporary photographic work from Australian artists.

You can see the section of finalists here.