Winner announced

Congratulations to Lucy Boyle (@lucy_e_boyle), winner of the My Australia is Instagram competition! Lucy has won a $2000 Canon e-store voucher, a merchandise pack for The photograph and Australia and a $200 dining voucher for CHISWICK at the Gallery.

The five runners up are:
@smiffriff, @biglenslittlelens, @caity_marguerite, @nonicaroll, @aidoframes

Our competition judges Judy Annear (the Gallery’s senior curator, photographs) and Isobel Parker Philip (assistant curator, photographs) said of the winning works:

With more than 4300 entries to the competition we were amazed and overwhelmed at the level of participation. From this immense pool of submissions we selected 22 shortlisted entries based on the originality of their responses when attempting to capture what Australia means to them through a single image.

All the finalists offer visions of Australian life and its landscape that avoid clichés and provide a study of Australia’s multivalent character through fragments. They demonstrate stylistic experimentation and tackle themes like transience and the mining of natural resources. All possess a keen eye for composition. Some of their images are light-drenched while others are sombre.

The winning entry is a metaphorically playful collision of two incongruous motifs that utilises the simple ploy of reflection to produce a compositionally dynamic scene. Macabre undertones haunt this portrait of an unassuming and carefree swimmer.

Full terms and conditions

1. Information on how to enter form part of the terms and conditions of entry. Entry into the competition is deemed acceptance of these terms and conditions.

2. The promoter is the Art Gallery of NSW, ABN 24 934 492 575, Art Gallery Rd, The Domain NSW 2000, ph (02) 9225 1700.

3. Entry is open to all permanent residents of Australia. Employees and their immediate families of the Art Gallery of NSW and their agencies and companies associated with the promotion are ineligible to enter the competition.

4. The competition commences at 5.00pm (AEST) on Wednesday 18 March 2015 and closes at 11.59pm (AEST) on Sunday 17 May 2015.

5. How to enter:
Step 1: Download the Instagram application for iPhone or Android
Step 2: Take and edit your photo
Step 3: Upload the photo to Instagram with the tags @artgalleryofnsw and #myaustraliais (Instagram privacy settings must be set to ‘public’ for us to retrieve your photo)

6. Only entries submitted via the Instagram application and which are appropriately hashtagged will be accepted. Photographs submitted must be original works.

7. Judging will take place on Monday 18 May 2015 at 3pm (AEST) at the Art Gallery of NSW. If the winner is under the age of 18 years, the prize will be awarded to their parent or legal guardian.

9. The competition is a game of skill and chance plays no part in the selection of the winner. Submissions will be judged by Judy Annear, the Gallery’s senior curator of photographs, and Isobel Parker Philip, the Gallery’s assistant curator of photographs, according to the following criteria:
9.1 The relevance of the submitted photo to the theme in question, as decided by our judge.
9.2 Artistic interpretation of the theme, as decided by our judge.
9.3 Originality of the submission. Entries that are deemed to not belong to or be taken by the user will not be eligible.

10. Judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Prizes cannot be transferred. Non-cash prizes cannot be redeemed for cash.

11. The promoter reserves the right to verify the validity of entries and to disqualify any entry which, in the opinion of promoter, includes objectionable content, profanity, potentially insulting, inflammatory or defamatory statements, disqualify any entrant who tampers with the entry process, who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these terms and conditions of entry or who has, in the opinion of promoter, engaged in conduct in entering the promotion which is fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or generally damaging to the goodwill or reputation of the promotion and/or promoter. The promoter reserves the right to disqualify a winner if the promoter becomes aware that the winner and/or the winner’s entry is of a type described in this clause.

12. Entries must be received by 11.59pm (AEST) Sunday 17 May 2015. The time of entry will in each case be the time the online entry is received by the Art Gallery of NSW database. The promoter accepts no responsibility for any late, lost or misdirected entries due to technical disruptions, network congestion or for any other reason.

13. The cost of accessing the promotional website will be dependent on the entrant’s individual internet service provider.

14. Use of images:
14.1 All images published on Instagram with #myaustraliais may be moderated and displayed on the website and social media channels of the Art Gallery of NSW and its associated partners. These images and associated usernames will be public to all.
14.2 By entering the competition and accepting the terms and conditions you agree that you hereby license the rights to use your photo submission to the Art Gallery of NSW and its associated partners on any of its websites or social media channels, or for advertising and promotion of its products, services, and/or its company in any media now known or hereafter developed in perpetuity in exchange for no compensation of any kind.
15. Use of personal information:
15.1 By entering the competition and accepting the terms and conditions, you agree that the Art Gallery of NSW may use your personal details for the purpose of conducting the competition, including the use of your Instagram name in promotional formats.
15.2 By entering the competition, you give the Art Gallery of NSW permission to contact you via Instagram if you are a winner of the competition for the purpose of distributing your prize to you.

16. The promoter reserves the right to request winners to provide proof of identity and proof of residency at the nominated prize delivery address. Identification considered suitable for verification is at the discretion of the promoter.

17. The promoter reserves the right to refuse to allow a winner to take part in any or all aspects of the prize, if the promoter determines, in their absolute discretion, that a winner is not in the mental or physical condition necessary to be able to safely participate in the prize. It is a condition of accepting the prize that the winner may be required to sign a legal release in a form determined by the promoter in its absolute discretion.

18. The promoter shall endeavour to contact the winners via their Instagram account within one week of the prize draw. In the event that the winner/s cannot be contacted after one month, an alternate winner/s will be selected and the original winner/s will forfeit any prize. The unclaimed prize judging will take place on Friday 19 June 2015 at 3pm (AEST) at the Art Gallery of NSW.

19. The promoter shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to direct or consequential loss) or for any personal injury suffered or sustained in connection with any prize/s, except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law.

20. The promoter is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, either caused by the phone user or for any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilised in this competition, or for any technical error, or any combination thereof that may occur in the course of the administration of this competition including any omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line or satellite network failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to or alteration of entries.

21. If for any reason this competition is not capable of running as planned, including due to infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures or any causes beyond the control of the promoter, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or integrity or proper conduct of this promotion, the promoter reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, take any action that may be available, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the competition, subject to any written direction given under state regulation.

22. Prizes are as follows:

Major prize:
$2000 Canon e-store voucher
The photograph and Australia merchandise pack (total value $300)
$200 dining voucher for CHISWICK at the Gallery
Valid until 30 June 2016

In addition, five runners-up will each receive a copy of The photograph and Australia exhibition book, valued at $75.

Total prize pool is $2875.

23. In the event that for any reason whatsoever a winner does not take an element of the prize at the time stipulated by the promoter then that element of the prize will be forfeited by the winner and cash will not be awarded in lieu of that element of the prize.

24. Participation in this competition assumes the acceptance of the Instagram terms and conditions, found at http://instagram.com/legal/terms/