Visual Arts Review - Brian Rope
unBECOMING - Fernanda Pedroso
Grainger
Gallery on Geelong
15
November – 14 December 2025 (Thu–Sun, 11am–5pm)
Originally from Brazil, Fernanda Pedroso moved to Australia in 2020 and is based in Canberra. At the age of 40 she transitioned from a 20-year career in advertising to a new life in photography. In the few years since she has achieved a great deal, including being name Australasia's Top Emerging Photographer of the Year in 2024.
Her work has gained international recognition, earning distinctions in The Monochrome Awards, Australian Photography Awards, Asia Pacific and Iris Awards. She was a finalist in the Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize (2024, 2025) and semi-finalist in the Head On Photo Awards (2024, 2025).
This exhibition of her series unBECOMING is part of this year’s Head On Photo Festival Open Program. It is one of over seventy diverse, artist-run exhibitions in the Festival across Australia. Looking back through my blog to remind myself what I had seen/reviewed of this artist’s work previously, I noticed that I had seen one of the images, It Doesn't Sound Right, being exhibited here when it was shown in Terra:(un)becoming, a group show at Photo Access in December 2023.
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It Doesn't Sound Right, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag (Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso |
Her series Silent Currents, 2024, also shown at Photo Access in late 2024, explored “the quiet sadness” of Tokyo. At the time, I wrote that it was an excellent example of how photographers can explore specific urban areas and paint descriptions for those fortunate to see their imagery. And I very much appreciated this artist’s piece Transmuted, 2025 in the 2025 Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize, and its accompanying delightful poetry artist statement.
I
was unable to attend the opening of this current exhibition but saw the show,
and met Pedroso, when attending a book launch at the gallery the following week.
You will very likely meet the artist too if you visit the exhibition, as she is
there most days.
Pedroso’s work is described as being “deeply inspired by her personal experiences, music, poetry, and the diverse cultures she has encountered. Drawing influence from other notable photographers and artists, she seeks to merge their techniques with her own perspective to create powerful and emotive imagery.”
In a media release by Head On, I read “Pedroso explores technology’s grip on human identity in debut solo exhibition. Are we becoming who we want to be, or who technology wants us to be?” And “Grainger Gallery on Geelong presents unBECOMING, photographer Fernanda Pedroso's powerful debut solo exhibition exploring how digital dependency can reshape human identity and connection.”
So, what is in this exhibition? Two years in the making and shot in Brazil in collaboration with makeup artist and designer Rafa Jones, there are twenty-seven striking images that explore how our hyperconnected age is impacting us. Are we truly more connected or are we, in reality, more isolated from each other? Right now we are witnessing and feeling the many impacts of artificial intelligence. Some think it is absolutely marvellous, at least in particular fields. Others are appalled by its current and almost certain impacts on photography and other arts.
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Disconnected, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag (Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso |
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Motherboard, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag (Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso |
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Overwhelmed 3, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag (Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso |
So
this is a most appropriate time for us to be challenged, by these artworks, to
think about the issues caused by the technological accelerations in our world.
What are the costs to us personally of being more connected, whilst feeling
disconnected? How has technology shaping our lives today? Is the impact any
different to when I was one of the first mainframe computer programmers in Australia
in the 1960s? Or when digital photography overwhelmed the analogue system we
had always previously used?
As you’ve seen in the images above, the exhibition features haunting images of figures painted entirely black. This is intended to refer to the black mirrors of our screens. Seven striking models are adorned with copper wire masks, terminals, tangled cords and headphones. They are futuristic yet also have an ancient tribal feeling. Pedroso intends them to be a visual metaphor for a question she believes we all need to ask ourselves, “What am I becoming? Can I come back to myself, my own truth?” various accoutrements of technology.
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Entwined 3, Archival Ink Photograph, Canson Platine Fibre Rag (Framed, Artglass, Black Vic Ash) © Fernanda Pedroso |
The quality of the artworks is outstanding, and the overall exhibition is hugely successful. I am sure we will see more excellent work from this artist.
This review is also available on the author's blog here.
