to be
confound
fall
lost
fluid
free
land
breath
contextualise
"I had always dreamt of being a photographer, although after years of soul searching I realised the main thing holding me back was myself. I had a self dialogue that was completely self sabotaging my dreams. Thoughts like ‘I am not good enough’, ‘other photographers are better than me’, ‘people are not going to like it’, ‘I am not worthy of success’, ‘If I do well I will loose it all’ and it would continue to go around in circles.
At some point I started doing the work and looking at myself for the answers. It wasn’t easy, I had help and continue to call upon my support when I need it. What I did realise was I wasn’t alone, there are lots of people with these stories or false believes. Knowing how much it had held me back, I wanted to create a safe space for people to unpack what they are carrying and assist them in there journey to feeling comfortable in from of the camera.
This is where the transpersonal photography came about, looking at photos, unpacking what is held within them, feeling into images, the stories, the believes and then ultimately move towards how people ‘want’ to feel when they see themselves in photos." Kate Binnie
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We Are is a multi-location multimedia photographic experience highlighting creative women of Newcastle, commencing on Wednesday March 8th 2023 (International Women’s Day) and culminating in a celebration event at The Lock-Up on Friday March 24th.
We Are is a portrait project featuring 20 WH!P Collective members turning their lenses towards fellow female and non-binary creatives to highlight the many benefits that a thriving and diverse artistic community bring to our region.
WH!P (Women* of the Hunter !n Photography) was founded in 2020 to embrace and create opportunities for professional photographers from the Hunter region by leveraging the combined skills, experience and credentials of its members. Fostering a culture of support, celebration, exchange, education, advocacy, action, enjoyment, play and growth, it hopes to actively raise the profile of contemporary photographic excellence, education and experimentation in the Hunter Region. WH!P works collaboratively with those both within and beyond the local area who share our belief that the world should be shown through a lens as diverse as the real world.
*all references to women/woman is inclusive of gender diverse people
WH!P’s logos and graphics designed by Laura Kent
"I had always dreamt of being a photographer, although after years of soul searching I realised the main thing holding me back was myself".