Sarah Pannell

Sarah Pannell (b. 1988) is an emerging Australian documentary photographer. In 2009, Sarah graduated with a degree in International Studies at Deakin University, Melbourne and returned to university a year later to pursue her interests in photography. She completed her Bachelor of Photography at RMIT University in Melbourne with a major in documentary photography in 2012. Having spent time living and studying in the Netherlands and the United States, Sarah currently resides in her hometown of Melbourne, working in a freelance capacity. She is currently working on a new project, following 3 months spent in Southeastern Europe, traveling through the Balkans and Turkey with the aim to produce her first solo photo book. Today we take a look at her series, Through the Haze, which Sarah photographed during her time in Hong Kong.

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Through the Haze

For nearly two decades, my aunt and uncle have lived in Hong Kong as expats, so naturally, it has always been a place I have been curious to visit and see for myself. When I eventually made it to Hong Kong for the first time in early 2013, I was struck by the varying nature of the landscapes I encountered which contrasted greatly with my preconceptions of what the city and its surrounding territories. At this point, around 70% of the Hong Kong’s landmass remains undeveloped due to mountainous terrain, owing to the high population density in Central and the Kowloon Peninsula. In 2014, I returned just 10 months after this initial trip to continue working on this project and while struck by the infrastructure developments that that taken place within that period and enjoyed discovering new and quieter areas tucked away from the chaos of central Hong Kong.

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Sarah’s Pannell’s interest in self-publishing and print media lead to her current work as co-ordinator of the Melbourne-based Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive, an open access not for profit photobook library and publisher. In 2013, she also saw the creation of a new photographic gallery and studio space called Ruffian located in the inner-western suburb of Footscray, Melbourne. Ruffian is an artist-run initiative formed by Sarah and three fellow RMIT graduates with a vision to expose local emerging photographers & video artists.

To view more of Sarah’s work please visit her website.