Robyn Jean, Last brother (PEOPLE 2024)

Web:

http://www.robynjeanphotography.com

Kyle is a young Noongar man who is the last brother in his family. On the 25th December 2023 his brother became another Black Deaths in Custody statistic. Kyle came to be photographed with me. This is one of the images from that day. There was a deep sorrow in the room and as I photographed and he spoke of his brother, their struggles and love. Black and white gives Kyle's portrait the stark reality and sorrow needed to tell his story. It strips away the colours and draws the viewer to his face and eyes, we feel something of his loss and grief; the darkness sits against the soft light on his body to help us feel that pain. The way he sits square onto the camera, hands folded together looking with lost eyes was his choice and I became his storyteller. This portrait is so real, there is no acting here, it is Truth telling at it's rawest.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.