We interview photographic artist and World Press Photo Southeast Asia and Oceania Open Format winner Aletheia Casey about her competition-winning project ‘A Lost Place’, which takes a look at the 2019 and 2020 Australian bushfires and the connection between colonisation and environmental catastrophe.
Aletheia Casey was in London when her parents called and told that they had to evacuate as the fires were close to their home in Australia. Ultimately, Aletheia’s parents had to evacuate their home three times. She said, ‘My parents were really lucky. The fires actually skipped over their small town where they lived and so they escaped completely unharmed. But of course, so many other people didn’t. So many people lost their homes.’
While she did consider returning to Australia, Aletheia decided against it. She explained, ‘There was no point because what could I do? I couldn’t do anything about it. So actually, to ease my own anxiety and my horror at what was happening, I started to rework images that I had taken previously in Australia.’
A photographer since she was about 15 years old, Aletheia’s preferred mode of shooting is analogue. Most of the images in her award-winning project were taken with a large format camera. She also uses everything from inks, paints and oils to cicada wings to manipulate her prints.
Watch our full interview with World Press Photo winner Aletheia Casey
You can see more of Aletheia’s work on her website and Instagram.
Go see the 2024 World Press Photo exhibition
The World Press Photo exhibition is currently being shown in London for the first time in seven years! Originally running from Friday 3 May to Monday 27 May, it has now been extended to 16 June. Come see the exhibition at Borough Yards, Dirty Lane, London SE1 9AD. Tickets are available to buy, with prices starting from £5. Get 20% off with this discount code – AP20.
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