2009 Award: Matthew Austin

The past year has proven to be an optimistically challenging experience for my family, overwhelmed with both financial difficulty and death. This body of work is a representation of how these struggles are affecting my family personally. By comparing metaphors of death and financial tragedy through journal entries, e-mails, and photographs involving our experiences, I hope to encourage the viewer to develop their own understanding of the present time. My perspective emphasizes consideration for the fragility of life and the concern for others by demonstrating its importance in our generation.

--Matthew Austin
Columbia College, Chicago IL









All images © Matt Austin