Dane Beesley, Coral (PEOPLE & PORTRAIT 2025)

My work, titled Coral, is a black and white photographic portrait of a young woman named Cait. This image is not just a study of a face, but a testament to resilience and self-acceptance. At the age of eight, Cait faced a life-threatening diagnosis of retinoblastoma. The tumour, a mere two millimetres from her brain, necessitated the removal of her eye. The portrait focuses on her left eye, which is now a prosthetic. The photograph, stripped of colour, invites the viewer to look closer, to see beyond the surface. The implant, made of coral, is a fascinating and unexpected element. It is a piece of the natural world, a living material that has become part of her. The unpainted prosthetic, unadorned and unapologetic, stands in stark contrast to the societal pressure to hide or beautify perceived flaws.

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