MGA TOPshots 2020 - 2021 Winner Anika McClean

Anika McCLEAN Knocking on COVID’s door 2020 eucalyptus solvent transfers on boards

We are delighted to announce that the winner of TOPshots 2020–21 is Anika McClean from Woodleigh School for her work 'Knocking on COVID's door' (2020). The award was judged by MGA collection artist and 2010 Bowness Photography Prize winner, Lee Grant, who is a Korean-Australian photographer and researcher with a background in social anthropology. Based on the South Coast of NSW, she works on commissions and long-term independent and collaborative projects to explore themes such as community, identity and belonging, often combining photography, video, sound and text.

In choosing the winning work, Grant was drawn to this work because she says, ‘it speaks both simply and beautifully – using an experimental process – to speak of the times we are living in. I can't imagine the impact COVID must have on our young people but Anika's focus on being creative in a difficult time and speaking of her experiences on a really simple level, ie. her doorstep, is both captivating and inspiring.’