facade exhibition
More than 250 people gathered at Friday’s Studio last Thursday evening for Façades: Stories Unseen, a photography exhibition created by The Brand Agency’s Head of Design and PADC Co-President, Dan Agostino. The exhibition featured works from nearly 50 photographers, image makers and artists, each contributing a deeply personal self-portrait revealing something often unseen behind the work they create. Together, the collection formed a powerful and honest snapshot of the creative industry’s shared experiences, encouraging open conversations around mental health, vulnerability and connection.
What Lies Beneath - Stef King
On the surface,
you see the quiet performance
of appearing well.
The light does its job.
The shoot always goes well.
But beneath the surface
there is exhaustion,
anxiety,
fragility,
many faces
holding it all together.
The years of sacrifice
for the art,
the hustle,
the rate wars,
the we went with someone else.
We endure.
We stay the course.
We grow.
And beneath it all,
we realise -
we are enough.
The Creative Process
The work began with a self-portrait created in the studio, which was then re-photographed onto Polaroid film. Before the image fully developed, the emulsion was carefully separated from its backing and transferred onto another surface — a process known as a Polaroid lift. The fragile image is released in water, allowing it to float, fold, stretch and take on a life of its own.
The final image was then turned upside down, creating a visual divide between the outward appearance of happiness above and the darker, uncertain world that lies beneath.
