We were only inches away is a collection of images captured from found photographs, each carefully cropped and arranged to create ambiguous and abstract compositions of people together – touching, hugging, kissing, shaking hands, and enjoying each other’s company. Presented as a projection of two simultaneous image loops, hands, elbows, shoulders, knees and hips, forming a visual compendium of body language and gestures. These casual snapshots become a document of physical contact and spontaneous human connection, offering a reflection on social behaviour and the growing sense of isolation in a tech saturated world, and asks us: who are we without each other?
Sandie Don is a screenwriter and film industry professional with a focus on compelling narratives and their impact on audiences. As co-founder of Hopscotch Films, she draws from her two-decade career in film distribution and development. Don was also part of Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce and is fascinated by memory, subjective viewpoints, and the visible and invisible in storytelling.
Mark Gowing’s 35-year creative practice explores the poetry of form, grid, and rhythm through drawing, photography, and text-based works. His investigations into graphic, written, and oral languages abstract our visual dialects, questioning our understanding of images, form, and reading. Gowing’s work recontextualises forms to create tensions in frequency, suggesting alternative narratives.