2023 Head On Photo Festival set to launch this month

By Mike O'Connor | 25 October 2023

Australia’s largest photographic event, The Head On Photo Festival, is returning against the backdrop of Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach for its 14th year, featuring a bigger than ever collection of beautiful, eclectic and thought-provoking images expected to attract around 400,000 people along Bondi’s promenade.

With a record 702 emerging and professional photographers from Australia and across the globe, this year’s festival will also deliver the annual photographic competition with $70,000 in prizes as well as more than 100 exhibitions across the city. 

Head On Photo Festival creative director and founder Moshe Rosenzveig OAM, says the event has had an influx of entries this year, and they have accepted one of the highest numbers of works to date.

Of steel and dust, Chloe Sharrock. A cloud of dust in the aridity of a Baghdad suburb. The roar of a thousand engines. Black-clad silhouettes stand out on the horizon, a horde of shiny choppers. It’s the Iraqi Bikers and the Bond Brothers, Iraq’s only biker clubs. Born out of a shared desire to unite passionate bikers in an apolitical, secular space where everyone can be themselves against all opposing conventions. Shias, Sunnis and Christians mix in these clubs, a rarity in a country plagued by ongoing fratricidal sectarian wars. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
Of steel and dust, Chloe Sharrock. A cloud of dust in the aridity of a Baghdad suburb. The roar of a thousand engines. Black-clad silhouettes stand out on the horizon, a horde of shiny choppers. It’s the Iraqi Bikers and the Bond Brothers, Iraq’s only biker clubs. Born out of a shared desire to unite passionate bikers in an apolitical, secular space where everyone can be themselves against all opposing conventions. Shias, Sunnis and Christians mix in these clubs, a rarity in a country plagued by ongoing fratricidal sectarian wars. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.

“What’s unique about this festival - and unseen in any other gallery in Australia - is that we aren’t selecting the artists, rather the artwork based on its composition and merit alone,” says Rosenzveig.

“The majority of portrait competitions are judged on the celebrity of the photographer or subject, meaning so many incredible works are not seen,” he adds.

“At Head On the pieces are submitted blindly, so the selection panel doesn't know who the photographer is. We don’t care where they went to school, or where they have exhibited before. We’re trying to eliminate that bias,” he adds.

Head On has grown to become the biggest photo festival in the country and a significant event on the global arts calendar. 

“With photographers from around the world, we find the festival’s themes usually reflect the issues that have dominated the globe in the last 12 months.

The Human Fire by Antonio Denti. Halfway between hope and catastrophe, The Human Fire replicates a conversation between Denti and his 9-year-old son, Martino, after he returned from covering the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey. “He is used to my travels, but this time, he hugged me insistently as if he knew the horrors I had seen. I knew I would have to speak to him, and it would not be easy. Showing him a few of my photos, he was struck by the night ones, in which humans huddled around fires in front of the rubble that had been their homes. Martino said it made him think of the primitive humans inventing fire. He had pointed to the essence.” 11 Nov 2023 - 26 Nov 2023, Location, The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo.
The Human Fire by Antonio Denti. Halfway between hope and catastrophe, The Human Fire replicates a conversation between Denti and his 9-year-old son, Martino, after he returned from covering the catastrophic earthquake that struck Turkey. “He is used to my travels, but this time, he hugged me insistently as if he knew the horrors I had seen. I knew I would have to speak to him, and it would not be easy. Showing him a few of my photos, he was struck by the night ones, in which humans huddled around fires in front of the rubble that had been their homes. Martino said it made him think of the primitive humans inventing fire. He had pointed to the essence.” 11 Nov 2023 - 26 Nov 2023, Location, The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo.

“We have five exhibits on Ukraine, one centred around a bikie gang in Iraq, a body of work which documents the logging industry in Tasmania, the incredible Lonka project showing the faces of Holocaust survivors decades on from World War Two as well as pieces that focus on aging, motherhood and anorexia.

“Sometimes an exhibition shines light on a group of people most of us hardly ever think about,” he says.

Head On Photo Festival runs from November 10 to December 3.

You can see more of the festival highlights below.

ctrl+r by Toma Gerzha. Generation Z was born between 2000 and the present day. It is the first generation raised in the post-Soviet space and a digital environment. From an early age, they have used smartphones and cannot imagine a world without the internet. In large cities such as Kyiv, Moscow, and Minsk, people have started to talk about new ethics, cancel culture, and gender-neutral words. In small towns, no one is interested in this. People here have other issues: they focus on survival, including the youngest generation. Zoomers here are not as affected by smartphones and the internet. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Delmar Gallery, 144 Victoria St, Ashfield.
ctrl+r by Toma Gerzha. Generation Z was born between 2000 and the present day. It is the first generation raised in the post-Soviet space and a digital environment. From an early age, they have used smartphones and cannot imagine a world without the internet. In large cities such as Kyiv, Moscow, and Minsk, people have started to talk about new ethics, cancel culture, and gender-neutral words. In small towns, no one is interested in this. People here have other issues: they focus on survival, including the youngest generation. Zoomers here are not as affected by smartphones and the internet. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Delmar Gallery, 144 Victoria St, Ashfield.
Cage. Behind a life with anorexia, by David Arribas. Anorexia is a mental illness where the person feels an acute fear of gaining weight, presenting abnormal behaviours regarding diet, weight, volume and body silhouette. This results in a distorted view of reality in which prolonged fasting produces other derived pathologies such as osteopenia, epilepsy, jaundice, depression, anxiety, and sometimes aggressive behaviour. David Arribas is a freelance photographer based in Madrid, Spain.
Cage. Behind a life with anorexia, by David Arribas. Anorexia is a mental illness where the person feels an acute fear of gaining weight, presenting abnormal behaviours regarding diet, weight, volume and body silhouette. This results in a distorted view of reality in which prolonged fasting produces other derived pathologies such as osteopenia, epilepsy, jaundice, depression, anxiety, and sometimes aggressive behaviour. David Arribas is a freelance photographer based in Madrid, Spain. - 
Location: The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo.
The Australian Ocean by Craig Parry. The Australian Ocean is a collection of work spanning the past decade and speaks of Parry’s hopes to inspire and encourage a connection to nature through photography. He believes animal portraiture is significant for conservation as it enables people to understand and appreciate their unique beauty, characteristics and behaviour. Image: Craig Parry
The Australian Ocean by Craig Parry. The Australian Ocean is a collection of work spanning the past decade and speaks of Parry’s hopes to inspire and encourage a connection to nature through photography. He believes animal portraiture is significant for conservation as it enables people to understand and appreciate their unique beauty, characteristics and behaviour. - 
Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
Image: Craig Parry
Stealing Beauty by Brent Lewin. The Apatani and Chin are indigenous tribes living in India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar’s Chin States, respectively, and share a unique tradition of female facial tattooing and modification. Both tribes trace the genesis of this practice to a defence against the kidnapping of their women. Apatani girls were forced to undergo facial tattooing and don bamboo nose plugs that stretched the skin out. Chin girls received unique facial tattoos to indicate which of the six sub-tribes they were part of. Although the tradition remains, its original connotations with ugliness have disappeared over the generations, instead becoming a representation of courage, beauty and strength. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
Stealing Beauty by Brent Lewin. The Apatani and Chin are indigenous tribes living in India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar’s Chin States, respectively, and share a unique tradition of female facial tattooing and modification. Both tribes trace the genesis of this practice to a defence against the kidnapping of their women. Apatani girls were forced to undergo facial tattooing and don bamboo nose plugs that stretched the skin out. Chin girls received unique facial tattoos to indicate which of the six sub-tribes they were part of. Although the tradition remains, its original connotations with ugliness have disappeared over the generations, instead becoming a representation of courage, beauty and strength. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
A celebration of the best of Australian photojournalism, Paper Tigers 23 featuring 60 images from sixty of the best Australian photojournalists. The need for truthful journalism has never been more critical. It is through the lens of these photographers that we understand and experience much of the world’s events. Look back at the most critical moments through recent Australian history, and the images by which we remember them. 11 Nov 2023 - 26 Nov 2023, The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo. Image: Nick Moir
A celebration of the best of Australian photojournalism, Paper Tigers 23 featuring 60 images from sixty of the best Australian photojournalists. The need for truthful journalism has never been more critical. It is through the lens of these photographers that we understand and experience much of the world’s events. Look back at the most critical moments through recent Australian history, and the images by which we remember them. 11 Nov 2023 - 26 Nov 2023, The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo. Image: Nick Moir
The Great Tasmanian story is the story of the forests. They are contested sites of drama, passion, and pain. The forest wars made public the relationship between big business, corporate interest and governance and shined a light on the power of community activism (and the broader protest movement) to call out corruption and threats to democracy and to protect the natural world. The Forest Wars is Matthew Newton’s 20-year documentation of the struggle for Tasmania’s forests, which continues today. He bears witness to show battlegrounds rarely accessible to the public. He hopes to provoke reactions of care and empathy to fuel a desire for real change. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
The Great Tasmanian story is the story of the forests. They are contested sites of drama, passion, and pain. The forest wars made public the relationship between big business, corporate interest and governance and shined a light on the power of community activism (and the broader protest movement) to call out corruption and threats to democracy and to protect the natural world. The Forest Wars is Matthew Newton’s 20-year documentation of the struggle for Tasmania’s forests, which continues today. He bears witness to show battlegrounds rarely accessible to the public. He hopes to provoke reactions of care and empathy to fuel a desire for real change. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
American Bedroom by Barbara Peacock. American bedroom is a cultural and anthropological study of Americans in their private dwelling: the bedroom. The nature of the project is unguarded portraits of individuals, couples, and families that reveal the depth of their character, truth, and spirit. The images are paired with poetic and personal statements from each subject and are full of subtle details. Since Peacock began this project in 2016, she has travelled to all 50 states and intends to cover the entire scope of the United States. 11 Nov 2023 - 26 Nov 2023. Location: The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW, Australia, Ultimo.
American Bedroom by Barbara Peacock. American bedroom is a cultural and anthropological study of Americans in their private dwelling: the bedroom. The nature of the project is unguarded portraits of individuals, couples, and families that reveal the depth of their character, truth, and spirit. The images are paired with poetic and personal statements from each subject and are full of subtle details. Since Peacock began this project in 2016, she has travelled to all 50 states and intends to cover the entire scope of the United States. 11 Nov 2023 - 26 Nov 2023. Location: The Muse, TAFE NSW Ultimo 651 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW, Australia, Ultimo.
Sacred/Sagrado: Festivals of Mexico, Jenna Mullhall-Brereton. I began shooting Sacred/Sagrado: Festivals of Mexico in Oaxaca (on film) in 2011. Since then, I have continued travelling to various communities to witness and document traditions that are part of the fabric of Mexican culture. The term “sacred” invokes two distinct definitions: that which is holy and that which is a cherished part of the life of a community. Though all the festivals I have photographed tie back in some way to the religious calendar (Mardi Gras, after all, is the day before Lent), only about half of them celebrate the deeply held beliefs of the Catholic faith. Other images portray a profound sense of tradition, identity, and community that is every bit as intensely felt. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
Sacred/Sagrado: Festivals of Mexico, Jenna Mullhall-Brereton. I began shooting Sacred/Sagrado: Festivals of Mexico in Oaxaca (on film) in 2011. Since then, I have continued travelling to various communities to witness and document traditions that are part of the fabric of Mexican culture. The term “sacred” invokes two distinct definitions: that which is holy and that which is a cherished part of the life of a community. Though all the festivals I have photographed tie back in some way to the religious calendar (Mardi Gras, after all, is the day before Lent), only about half of them celebrate the deeply held beliefs of the Catholic faith. Other images portray a profound sense of tradition, identity, and community that is every bit as intensely felt. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
Sisters of the Road, Anne-Marie Michel. Sisters of the Road is a portrait series of American trucker women. Inspired by her childhood memories, Michel travelled ten thousand miles across the United States to seek out, speak with, and photograph her subjects. The resulting images and interviews give voice to the unique experiences of the female truckers who persevere in this physically demanding, male-dominated industry. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.
Sisters of the Road, Anne-Marie Michel. Sisters of the Road is a portrait series of American trucker women. Inspired by her childhood memories, Michel travelled ten thousand miles across the United States to seek out, speak with, and photograph her subjects. The resulting images and interviews give voice to the unique experiences of the female truckers who persevere in this physically demanding, male-dominated industry. 11 Nov 2023 - 03 Dec 2023, Location: Bondi Beach Promenade Queen Elizabeth Dr Bondi Beach.