Zo Damage © Silvi Glattauer 2022

Bio

Zo Damage is a contemporary visual artist based in Melbourne. Her practice explores embodied aesthetic experiences through historic and experimental analogue photographic techniques and installation, with a focus on the human condition. Previously, Damage spent over twenty years as a prominent, award-winning Australian live music photographer. Her retirement from the sector following the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a significant conceptual shift. While her broader work centres on apolitical observation of aesthetic experience, the project HEAR ME ROAR (2026) represents a critical thematic change. This monumental 250 x 204 cm triptych archival pigment print self-portrait directly addresses "Invisible Woman Syndrome," which refers to the social erasure and lack of recognition experienced by middle-aged women. By moving beyond her established apolitical approach, Damage creates a visual intervention that asserts spatial presence, empowers women, and encourages institutional dialogue regarding systemic erasure. Her work has been widely published and exhibited at local, regional, and state institutions, including Arts Centre Melbourne, the Museum of Australian Photography (MAPh), and Australian Galleries. Her artworks and self-published books are represented in public and private collections across Australia, Asia, Europe, and North America. She is currently a PhD candidate in Fine Art at Monash Art, Design and Architecture (MADA). Damage is a three-time consecutive finalist in the Bowness Photography Prize (2023–2025) and recipient of the 2023 People’s Choice Award. Her institutional recognitions include the State Library Victoria Fellowship (2022), the RMIT School of Art Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence (2021), the QVM Support to the Community Award (2018), and The Age Music Victoria Awards Outstanding Achievement Award (2017).

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