Mass Isolation Australia

Image credit: Jesse Marlow, Stay at Home

9th Ballarat International Foto Biennale
August 28 – October 23, 2021
https://ballaratfoto.org

Ballarat International Foto Biennale is partnering with FORMAT International Photography Festival and Gallery of Photography Ireland to create a visual record of the COVID-19 crisis on Instagram.

Inspired by the 1937 Mass Observation project in Britain, the project invites Australians to share their photographs and more to build an online visual archive of this extraordinary moment in our history.

‘2020 is fast becoming a hugely significant moment in time. The explosion in smart phone technology has opened up the world of photography to more people than ever before and we wanted to capture the COVID-19 event in a meaningful way’ says Fiona Sweet, Artistic Director for Ballarat International Foto Biennale.

‘I know that photographic artists will find new ways to interpret the world right now, but I encourage anyone to submit their ideas and photographs. It’s an opportunity to find lightness, to share experiences and build our faith in humanity’s ability to survive‘ says Sweet.

‘Having just returned from the U.S. I’ve been in self isolation for 14 days and experienced first hand the loneliness of being by yourself. It has been the digital world that has allowed me to stay connected” Artistic Director Fiona Sweet.

The Mass Isolation Australia project is free to take part and open to all across the world.

To participate on Instagram, use #massisolation #massisolationAUS or send your submissions to @massisolationAUS.

Selected posts will also be shared by curators Shaohui Kwok and Amelia Saward on @ballaratfoto and @massisolationAUS Instagram feeds.