unexposed collective

The Wall of Women by the Unexposed Collective

In recent years, female street photographers have risen. 

This is due in part to the explosion of social media as a more accessible and democratic showcase for photography, and the consequential formation of all-women groups like Unexposed, @womeninstreet and Women Street Photographers.

So the question is worth asking: do candid street photos made by women differ to those made by men? Does our gaze differ significantly from the male gaze? Is it less harsh? Do we also sexualise and diminish women, either intentionally or unintentionally? Or is our gaze more complex, respectful, tender and aesthetically beautiful? Or does the female gaze move beyond this arguably predictable description? And can it help redefine and reshape how society sees women?

A Wall of Women by Women is – in part – a response to those questions.

Curated by Julia Coddington and Rebecca Wiltshire, the exhibition includes 220 images by artists from the Unexposed Collective. 

The Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2023 runs from 26 August to 22 October 2023.

The Wall of Women exhibition is located on the Kathmandu wall - corner of Mair Street and Grenville Street in Ballarat.

Exhibition installation

The exhibition took the team over a day to install in windy conditions and at heights. We had volunteers from the BIFB along with members of the Unexposed Collective including Linda Maclean, Gerry Orkin and Sari Sutton. Vineet Vohra used his magic to help us out in a sticky situation! We are extremely grateful to Meg Hewitt for making it all happen, as well as the BIFB team!

The video below is a time-lapse of the installation made by Gerry Orkin.