Artwork: Dean
VOTE IN PEOPLE’S CHOICE
2026 Veracity Digital & Photography Prize
Proudly supported by
Veracity
About the artwork
An enthusiastic weightlifter, Dean Clifford was born with one of the most severe forms of Epidermolysis Bullosa. This rare, painful genetic skin disorder leaves the skin as fragile as tissue paper, causing wounds that never fully heal. Clifford spends around six hours each day caring for his skin. Doctors predicted he would not live past five; he is now forty-seven, one of the oldest living people with the disease. Brisbane-based but internationally renowned, Clifford has channelled that survival into a career as a motivational speaker, turning adversity into advocacy.
Photographer Glenn Hunt first met Clifford on a charity shoot and, after navigating his own health challenges, felt compelled to photograph him again, this time with a specific image in mind. Deliberately shirtless, Clifford’s scars are revealed to the world. The portrait is direct and unflinching: a quiet rebuttal to those who, after a photo of him went viral, refused to believe he was real.
About the artist
Glenn Hunt is a Brisbane-based photographer and photojournalist whose work spans editorial, commercial and fine art photography. Known for his moody, meticulously lit portraits, he won the 2022 Clayton Utz Art Award and the 2020 Brisbane Portrait Prize Digital Award. Hunt is based at his studio in Hendra and has been a finalist in numerous Australian art prizes.
Judges Notes
Glenn Hunt’s powerful and haunting work, Dean, is a portrait of suffering and resilience. Here, speaker and activist Dean Clifford’s shirtless image reveals the scars and damage of a lifetime’s battle with serious illness.
Where this may seem uncomfortable or even exploitative to some, I see it as a statement of stoicism, agency and the remarkable power of the sitter that only one who has suffered severe pain and illness can fully understand. Further, I see this work as a direct middle finger to so many portrait prizes that have become fixated with and dazzled by the bright lights of celebrity and glamour.
Jonathan McBurnie
Director, Queen Victoria Museum and Gallery (Launceston)
Chief Judge 2026
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