Email: tajette@gmail.com
Mobile: +61 405 205 620
Tajette O’Halloran is an Australian photographic artist who’s work explores the intricacies of interpersonal relationships within suburban and rural landscapes. For almost a decade, she has dedicated her artistic practice to two major ongoing series, 'In Australia' and 'The Quarry.'
‘In Australia’ serves as a personal reflection on her own adolescence, offering a nuanced glimpse into the complexities of Australia's small-town and rural culture, unveiling traces of unconventional family backgrounds, hardships, friendships and complex peer structures. Rooted in personal experiences, Tajette’s conceptual documentary approach involves constructing cinematic scenes informed by memory, reflecting the diverse and shared experiences of adolescence across the Australian and wider global landscape.
In recent years, Tajette has developed 'The Quarry,' a series centred around an abandoned brickworks quarry turned swimming hole in rural NSW. Using traditional documentary photography, she captures the convergence of people, ecosystems, and the changing landscape, highlighting the quarry's dynamic microcosm.
Tajette has received widespread recognition for her work. She was awarded the British Journal of Photography’s Portrait of Humanity award in 2019 and the Jurors Pick in the 2020 Lens Culture Award. She was also named a finalist in the National Portrait Prize in both 2021 and 2023, and was shortlisted for numerous photography awards including The Olive Cotton Award (2021) where she received and honourable mention, The Doug Moran Photographic Prize (2016-2019) The Bowness Photography Prize (2016,2019) and The PH Museum Women’s Photography Grant (2021).
Her work has been featured in Australian and International publications, including the British Journal of Photography (UK), The New York Times (USA) and The Guardian (AUS). Tajette has contributed as both an artist and curator in ACTS I-VII at Benalla Art Gallery as part of PHOTO 2022 and is a member of Oculi Collective.
Exhibitions
2025 The Quarry, Hillvale Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
2025 In Suburbia (Recent Detours), S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2025 Agenda, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW
2024 The Quarry, Byron School of Art Project Space, Mullumbimby, NSW
2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2022 ACTS I-VII, PHOTO 2022 / Benalla Regional Gallery, Benalla, VIC
2022 New Discoveries in Contemporary Photography, LensCulture, Caelum Gallery, New York, NY
2021 In Living Memory, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2020 ICP Concerned: Global Images for Global Crisis, International Centre of Photography, New York, NY
2019, 2016 CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, VIC
Commissions (Selected)
2025-2026 Nightlife Commission, Powerhouse Museum, NSW
2024 Flow Hive ‘Protecting Our Pollinators’ editorial for Australian Geographic
2023 Missy Higgins Album Campaign ‘The Second Act’
2023 ‘Accidental Activists’ editorial for Australian Geographic
2022 Editorial for ABC (Four Corners)
Awards
2025 Honourable Mention, Galah Regional Photography Prize, New England Regional Art Museum, NSW
2025 Finalist, Olive Cotton Award, Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW
2023 Finalist, Galah Regional Photography Prize, New England Regional Art Museum, NSW
2023, 2021 Finalist, National Photographic Portrait Prize, National Portrait Gallery, ACT
2021 Honourable Mention, Olive Cotton Award, Tweed Regional Gallery, NSW
2020 Jurors’ Pick, LensCulture, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2020 Shortlisted, Photography Grant, PhMuseum, Bologna, Italy
2019 People’s Choice Award, CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, VIC
2019 Finalist, William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Museum of Australian Photography, VIC
2019 Winner, Portrait of Humanity Award, British Journal of Photography, London, UK
2019, 2018, 2016 Finalist, Moran Photographic Prize, Moran Foundation, Sydney
2016 Honourable Mention, William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, VIC
Speaking and Workshops (Selected)
2025 Podcast Feature - When Harry Met Sally
2023 Artist Talk, The Quarry, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2023, 2020 Workshop, Narrative Storytelling, Byron School of Art, Mullumbimby, NSW
2022 Artist Talk, PHOTO 2022 / Benalla Regional Gallery, Benalla, VIC
2022 In-Conversation, Talking Portraiture, Photo Collective AU, Melbourne, VIC
2021 Interview, In Living Memory, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, ACT
2020 Speaker, The Importance of Building Your Own Body of Work, Canon Podcast Series
2020 Speaker, Light as a Subject, Lyceum Club, Melbourne, VIC
2016 Artist Talk, William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, VIC
Press (Selected)
2024 ‘Inclusive, Honest and Tender Explorations of Identity in Australia’s Suburban Landscapes’, Fotonostrum Magazine, Spain
2023 ‘Friendship, freedom and fragility: The photographer who returns to her teenage years’, The Guardian
2020 ‘In Australia’, LensCulture, Italy
2019 ‘Portrait of Humanity Award: You Can Post This After I Die’, British Journal of Photography
Memberships
2020 - present Oculi Collective, Australia