Jules SALTER: Washed up

2026 MAPh Photography Fair

Jules SALTER
Washed up 2025
pigment ink-jet print
framed
42.0 x 29.7 cm
collection of the artist
courtesy of the artist

This artwork was a finalist in our annual TOPshots competition and exhibition held in the MAPh Atrium Gallery, 11 March – 4 May 2026.

TOPshots is an annual celebration of emerging photo-media artists selected from a large pool of entries. 2026 marks the 18th anniversary of this award and exhibition, which showcases exceptional photographic work produced by students who have completed the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subjects of Art Making and Exhibiting, Art Creative Practice and Media, as well as the International Baccalaureate (IB) subject of Visual Arts and the Vocational Education and Training (VET) subject of Visual Arts.

Artist statement

Washed Up is a series of photographs taken as part of a coffee table book entitled ‘Renaissance’. The book explores a collection of fashion designs created to explore the cyclical nature of fast fashion and the potential for creative rebirth within everyday objects. ‘Washed Up’ depicts a garment created entirely from recycled fabrics and marine debris such as fishing nets, pearls and plastic. The photographs act as a commentary on consumerism and waste in everyday life, evoking imagery of a beached mermaid tangled in debris and litter. Despite the morbid subject matter, the images focus on the gown’s lustrous adornments, highlighting the beauty in even the bleakest of materials and circumstances.