THE LANDSCAPE AWARDS 2023: THE JUDGES

Serena Dzenis is a lens-based artist from Australia who resides in Iceland. She uses her imagery to tell stories about science, conservation, environmental issues and the future of mankind.

Serena’s work places a strong emphasis on storytelling within the landscape – connecting with the land and immersing oneself in the rhythms and dangers associated with the living presence of this world. Her hope is to deliver the voice of nature through visual storytelling to a much broader audience in collaboration with researchers, scientists and media outlets.

Having originally made her name in the world of music photography, Serena’s work has continually evolved over time to include documentary, landscape and nature photography, as well as journalism and public speaking. She was named Architectural Photographer of the Year in the 2022 ND Photography Awards. Her current project, “2021 ± II: Utopia Broadcasting”, has been exhibited in several countries and achieved accolades worldwide, including being shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Awards 2022.

Previously, Serena was the Senior Vice President for the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU) in Australia, where she used her organisational abilities to motivate change. She also has over a decade of experience as a Mental Health clinician in youth early psychosis crisis assessment and treatment, as well as adult forensic psychiatry. Whilst maintaining a career in the health sector, she continued to work as a freelance photojournalist.

Given her unique background, Serena’s photographs depart from the traditional, with a focus on capturing the otherworldliness that is sometimes associated with nature on our own planet. Through her work, she has embraced the challenge to inspire others to think more deeply about our actions as a species, one image at a time.

Rachael Talibart
rachaeltalibart.com
f11workshops.com

Rachael is a professional seascape and coastal photographer represented by galleries in Europe and the USA. Her work is frequently exhibited, and her limited-edition prints are collected internationally. She is the author of three monographs.

Rachael grew up on the south coast of England and much of Rachael’s early childhood was spent at sea. Her first career, however, was as a solicitor in the City of London. During the City years, her friends and colleagues were used to seeing her return from trips with bags full of exposed film; the developing sometimes cost more than the trip! In 2008, she converted to digital, and she says that is when the obsession really set in. In 2000, Rachael left her City career and she now works full-time on her photography. 

Rachael’s nautical childhood left her with a life-long love for the ocean and the coast it carves. For Rachael, nothing beats a day on an empty shore, and this is reflected in her work.  Often choosing to work in the tradition of the ‘Sublime’, Rachael is drawn to the coast in the wildest weather, but she also loves to capture quieter moods, often focusing on the tiniest of details at the tideline. She admits that she is both frightened and fascinated by the sea.

Her Sirens series embodies hidden figures that seem to emerge from the water. Sirens has won a series of international awards and featured in national and international publications including The Guardian, Sunday Times, Wired, Colossal, My Modern Met, De Volkskrant and Süddeutsche Zeitung. In an article from Colossal, Talibart reflects on her relationship with the sea, “It makes small, unimportant things of us all yet, at the same time, it is exhilarating and profoundly life affirming.” 

Will Patino
williampatino.com