Kat Morrisby, Soft fascination. (B&W 2023)

Last summer, on a trip through takayna lutruwita (Tarkine Tasmania), while I was crouched over the banks of the Savage River, I became mesmerised by the subtle ways the water’s surface moved through the forest. It passed slowly in front me me, ever so gently shifting shape and changing appearance. There were minuscule phenomena happening all around – the canopy above reflected in the water; bubbles from a crayfish hole underneath rose to the surface and formed perfectly concentric ripples; as the wind picked up, the surface turned into large, cell-like jewels; as it slowed down, tiny vortexes could be seen moving downstream. I kept the same section of canopy while creating my work, and extrapolated the river’s unrelenting change by shooting through a detached lens, adding extra layers of depth, abstraction and movement to each shot. It’s called ‘soft fascination’, by the way, being mesmerised by wonders like moving water and flickering fire – it gives our minds a place to settle and rest as we watch something that is reasonably predictable in its nature (and thus not threatening) but interesting enough to keep us engaged.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.