The 2007 Project will mark a decade since the conception of Fujifilm Site Unseen. In 1997 it was merely a thought, a seed planted in the minds of four photography students at the Mount Lawley TAFE campus in Western Australia. It is now not only a national competition, but a national benchmark for all photography students in Australia. Site Unseen is not just a picture book - it is a chance for students to take their first steps onto the glorious red carpet of the photography industry.
It sounds awfully romantic, doesn't it?
Unfortunately we'd be lying if we didn't confess the truth
that being a Photography student in Australia is often
anything but. It can be a hard struggle up hill, expensive,
competitive and so mentally taxing. But here in this book,
open before you, is a collection of work so professional
that it keeps industry icons on their toes. It is the amalgamation
of the sweat and tears and life and effort of the very
best of Australia's young talent, bound neatly into 250
pages of wonder.
We started this new year as wide-eyed,
eager students, launching ourselves head-first into our
roles on the new Site Unseen committee with bravado and
pride. We have always worked with full awareness of our
project's history, but with our hearts and eyes firmly
planted on the possibilities for our future. It was a rocky
start for our brand new, all-girl committee, with the loss
of a director early in the season, and with such big boots
to fill, but as the previous director Jemma Howard once
said to Phillipa, "this is a gift, and you can't begin
to know the good you're doing now, but you'll appreciate
it when it's over."
This project had humble beginnings, blossoming
in 1998 in the Mount Lawley campus of TAFE. When it first
began it was open only to those students in their final
year of that campus. In its second year it was open to
all tertiary photographic students in Western Australia.
Over the years as the book has grown, our reach has grown.
Last years' collection saw the Fujifilm Site Unseen Collection
publish a national edition, with entries from Universities
and TAFE campuses right across Australia, making it the
most successful edition yet.
In 2007 we hope to build upon this success, by further promoting and developing Site Unseen as a benchmark for student photographic work, and encouraging the exposure of future photographers within the industry.
