Still life on Newstart

This photo series tells the story of what it’s like to survive on Newstart Allowance (unemployment payments) for one week. Until recently the rate of Newstart did not increase for more than 35 years and is still well below the poverty line. Still Life on Newstart illustrates the grocery budget that an average Newstart recipient would have to live on each day for one week.

It displays these items in the style of traditional European still life paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries, which often contained moral and allegorical lessons as sub-texts. One aim is to use these images as a political narrative, raising awareness about the role of government policy in generating poverty and lending weight to the ‘raise the rate’ campaign.