Sonia Payes’ artistic practice is based in Melbourne, Australia, where she continually pushes the boundaries between photography, sculptural work and new media. Her body of work explores the narrative of humanity’s impact on the landscape and environment and the resulting resilience and capacity of the ever-changing world to adapt and grow.

Payes is represented by Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne, Australia.



SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2023 Alchemy, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne
2022 Transmutations 2022 - SP X NFT - Assembly Point, Creative Spaces - City Of Melbourne, Sturt Street, Southbank, Melbourne - 2- 30 May
2022 Alchemy, There-Is, Fringe World, Perth, WA,
2017 Australians In PNG, Terra Mysteria, Monash Gallery of Art, Wheelers Hill, VIC,
2017 Emergence, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne
2017 Sonia Payes: Terra mysteria, part of the Australians in PNG suite of exhibitions with ERic Bridgeman and Stephen Dupont, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2016 Parallel Futures, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria
2016 Art16 London, Fehily Contemporary, Olympia Grand, London
2016 FabrikExpo 2016 - Sonia Payes, Los Angeles, USA
2014 Re Generation, Queensland Festival of Photography, Percolator Gallery, Brisbane
2013 Interzone, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2013 Luminous Interlude, Queensland Centre for Photography, Brisbane`
2013 The White Dress, L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2012 Fantastic Dreamland - Australian Contemporary Photography, Shanghai, China
2011 Luminous Interlude, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2009 Insomnia I + II, Cube 37, Frankston Arts Centre, Victoria
2008 Portraits of Australian Artists, John Curtin Access Gallery, Perth
2007 Portraits, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Portraits, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2005 Agender, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2003 Body of Work, John Buckley Fine Art, Melbourne


PUBLIC ART - SCULPTURE

2024 Frankston City Council - Public Art - Mornington Peninsula VIC
2024 City of Monash - MAPh - Corner Ferntree Gully Road & Jells Road, Wheelers Hill, VIC, AUS
2023 Mornington Penisula - Frankston City Council - Dandenong Road West - VIC - AUS
2023 City of Melville - Robert Street Park - Cnr Leach Hwy - Winthrop - WA - AUS


GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 Venice Art Biennial - Personal Structures | Beyond Boundaries - Monument (ARTPark Sculpture Walks) - Marinaressa Gardens - Venice - ITALY - 20 APR - 24 NOV
2024 Sonia Payes - Renaissance: A Journey of Transformation Museum of Australian Photography MAPh - VIC - AUS
2024 Photo2024 International Festival of Photography - Sonia Payes - Renaissance: A Journey of Transformation - Museum of Australian Photography MAPh - VIC - AUS
2024 ARTPark Australia - Sculpture Walk Woolloomooloo Wharf - Sydney - NSW - AUS
2023 The World of Photography Exhibition - Fotonostrum - Barcelona - CAT - SPAIN
2023 Summer Exhibition - Scott Livesey Galleries - Melbourne - AUS
2023 Meridian Sculpture 50th Exhibition - Fitzroy - VIC - AUS
2023 The Blue Period - One Star Gallery - West Melbourne - VIC - AUS
2023 Fishers' Ghost Art Award - Campbelltown Arts Centre - Campbelltown - NSW - AUS
2023 Das Kapital - Group Exhibition - Cecil Place Precinct - Prahran - VIC - AUS
2023 Artists for Kids Culture Art Auction - St Kilda - VIC - AUS
2023 Bowness Photography Prize - MAph - VIC - AUS
2023 SWELL Sculpture Festival 2023 - Currumbin - QLD - AUS
2023 Exposició col . lectiva ARTISTES d'IbizArtGuide Edicio 14 - Centro Cultural de Jesus IBIZA - SPAIN
2023 Arts in the Valley - Kangaroo Valley - NSW - AUS
2023 Olive Cotton Award - tweed Regional Gallery - NSW - AUS
2023 Omnia Art Prize - St Kevin's College, Toorak - Vic - AUS
2023 The 19th Julia Margaret Cameron Award - Fotonosturm - Barcelona, SPAIN
2022 3rd Barcelona Foto Biennale, 7th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography, Fotonostrum Mediterranean House of Photography - Barcelona, CAT, SPAIN
2022 Fotonostrum - ALCHEMY coinciding with HELMUT NEWTON ‘PRIVATE PROPERTY’
Fotonostrum Mediterranean House Of Photography - Barcelona, CAT, SPAIN - MAY 21 - JULY 3, 2022
2022 Mandorla Art Prize - Holmes à Court Gallery - West Perth - WA - AUS MAY 21 - JUNE 10
2022 Omnia Art Prize - St Kevin’s - Toorak - VIC - AUS MAY 27 - MAY 30
2022 Tom Bass Prize For Figurative Sculpture - Juniper Hall - SYD - AUS
2022 Sculpture By The Sea - Cottesloe - WA - AUS
2022 Sculpture By The Sea Inside - Cottesloe - WA - AUS
2022 There-is - Fringe World Festival - Perth - WA
2022 Barcelona Foto Biennale - Fotonostrum Gallery , Barcelona, CAT, SPAIN
2021 Deakin University Art Gallery - Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Burwood, VIC, AUS
2021 Victoria Sculpture Exhibition Gippsland, VIC, AUS
2021 Monash Gallery of Art - STAGES: life in lockdown, Online, Wheelers Hill, VIC, AUS
2021 BIG Sculpture presents SMALL Works - One Star Lounge & Gallery - West Melbourne, VIC, AUS
2021 Winmark Winery Sculpture Walk - Hunter Valley, NSW, AUS
2021 Sculpture By The Sea - Cottesloe, WA, AUS
2021 notfair project space - Southside House, Windsor, VIC, AUS
2021 I AM HERE Arthouse Gallery - Rushcutters Bay, NSW, AUS
2021 Mandorla Art Prize - Stala Contemporary, Perth, WA, AUS
2021 Southeast Museum of Photography, Florida USA - Fromm All Points of the Southern Sky: Photography from Australia + Oceania
2021 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Monalto Vineyard, Red Hill, Vic
2020 Summer Salon, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne
2020 Sculpture in the Gardens, Mudgee, NSW
2020 'From All Points of the Southern Sky: Photography from Australia and Oceania', Southeast Museum of Photography, Florida, USA
2020 Wyndham Art Prize, Wyndham, Victoria
2020 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Montalto Vineyard, Red Hill, Victoria
2019 Big Sculpture @ Veg Out, Community Garden, St Kilda
2019 Now Contemporary, Art Prize, Shoalhaven Regional Nowra Gallery, NSW
2019 Browness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2019 Sydney Contemporary 2019, Carriageworks with Scott Livesey Galleries
2019 CLIP Award Exhibition, Perth Centre for Photography
2019 Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show
2019 Sculpture by the Sea: Cottesloe 15th Annual Exhibition, Perth, Western Australia
2019 Sculpture Inside, Perth, Western Australia
2018 Christmas Exhibition, Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne
2018 Sculpture in the Gardens, Mudgee, NSW
2018 The Wild Song: Photographic Portraits of Australian Female Artists, Town Hall Gallery, Melbourne
2018 Mandorla Art Prize Exhibition, Turner Galleries, Perth, Western Australia; then travelling to New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery in 2018.
2018 Hillview Sculpture Biennial, Southern Highlands, NSW
2018 Hillview Small Sculpture Exhibition, Southern Highlands, NSW
2018 Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Landfall, Lorne, VIC
2018 Lorne Small Sculpture Inside, Lorne, VIC
2018 Wyndham Art Prize, Wyndham Art Gallery, Werribee
2018 Winton Wetlands, Environmental Project Art Walk, Benalla
2018 White Night Melbourne, Queen Victoria Gardens, Melbourne CBD
2017 Sculpture by the Sea: Bondi, Sydney
2017 Sculpture Inside, Bondi, Sydney
2017 Swell Sculpture Festival, Currumbin Beach, Brisbane, Queensland
2017 Swell Smalls Gallery, Dust Temple, Queensland
2017 CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2017 A Gathering, La Trobe Art Institute, Bendigo
2017 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Montalto Sculpture Park, Victoria
2016 William & Winifred Bowness Photography Prize Exhibition, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2016 Photo Independent, Raleigh Studios, Los Angeles, USA
2016 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia
2016 Now 16, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2015 Sunshine Coast Art Prize Exhibition, Maroochy Bushland Botanic Gardens, Brisbane
2015 Maroochy Music and Visual Arts Festival, BOMA Shipping Container Gallery, Brisbane
2015 Highlights from the MGA Collection, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2015 Art15 London, Fehily Contemporary, Olympia Grand, London
2015 Arcadia, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2014 McClelland Sculpture Survey & Awards 2014, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria
2014 Electron Salon, Los Angeles Centre for Digital Art, Los Angeles, California
2014 Badland, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2014 Wildcards: Bill Henson Shuffles the Deck, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2014 Liminal Narratives, Bayside Arts & Cultural Centre, Melbourne
2014 DUO Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, Pinnacles Gallery, Townsville
2014 Art14 London, Fehily Contemporary, Olympia Grand, London
2014 The 23rd Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition, Queensland Centre for Photography @ Photo Los Angeles, California
2013 Compact, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2013 Censored, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2013 Summer Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2013 Auckland Art Fair, The Video Zone, Queens Wharf, New Zealand
2013 Arts Can Do Charity Exhibition, ACAF, Hong Kong
2013 Clip Award, New Perspectives in Landscape Photography, Perth Centre of Photography, Western Australia
2013 Momentum, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria
2012 Final Countdown, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2012 SH Contemporary, Asia Pacific Contemporary Art Fair, Australia China Art Foundation, Shanghai
2012 Beyond Like-ness, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, University of Western Australia, Perth
2012 A Private View, Art of Collecting, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Melbourne
2012 Chromogenic 2012, The Age, Media House Gallery, Melbourne
2011 William & Winifred Bowness Finalists Exhibition, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2011 A Private View: Art of Collecting, Glen Eira City Council Gallery, Victoria
2011 Fehily Contemporary Artists - Inaugural Exhibition, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne
2010 Outside In, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria
2010 Melbourne Art Fair 2010, Charles Nodrum Gallery at Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2010 Mandorla Finalists Exhibition, Moores Building Contemporary Gallery, Western Australia
2010 Get smART, John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University of Technology, Perth
2010 Remoteness, Frankston Arts Centre, Victoria
2009 The Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture 2009, Tweed River Art Gallery, New South Wales
2009 Earth Sea and Sky, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2008 Rubik, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2008 Human Landscape: The Cult of Personality, Cube 37, Frankston Art Centre, Victoria
2008 The Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture 2008, Tweed River Art Gallery, New South Wales
2008 Gallery Artists’ Exhibition, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2008 In a Different Light: Artists Portrayed, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria
2007 The Farside of the Moon, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria
2007 Snap Freeze, Still Life Now, Tarrawarra Museum of Art, Victoria
2007 Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, Victoria
2007 Art for Science: Murdoch Childrens’ Research Institute Charity Exhibition, Nellie Castan Gallery, Melbourne
2007 Bodies & Minds, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Inaugural Bowness Photography Exhibition, Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
2006 Exhibition of Gallery Artists, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2006 Kodak Autumn Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne
2005 Works on Paper, Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne
2005 Kodak Autumn Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne


PRIZES AND AWARDS

2022 Bowness Photography Prize Finalists Exhibition, Monash Gallery of Art, VIC (honourable mention)
2022 18th Pollux Awards, Barcelona, CAT, SPAIN (honourable mention)
2022 17th Pollux Awards, Barcelona, CAT, SPAIN (honourable mention)
2021 15th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, Fotonostrum, Barcelona, CAT, SPAIN (honourable mention)
2019 Now Contemporary Art Prize, Shoalhaven Regional Nowra Gallery, NSW (Winner)
2019 Browness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art, Victoria (Finalist)
2019 Lethbridge Small Scale Art Award, Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington (Finalist)
2019 CLIP Award, Perth Centre for Photography (Finalist)
2019 Melbourne Flower and Garden Show (Winner)
2018 Mandorla Art Prize (Finalist)
2018 Hillview Sculpture Prize (Finalist)
2018 Lorne Sculpture Biennale (Finalist)
2018 Wyndham Sculpture Prize (Finalist)
2017 Australia Council for the Arts Grant
2017 Montalto Sculpture Prize, Montalto Sculpture Park, Victoria (Finalist)
2016 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art (Finalist)
2016 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottlesloe Beach, Western Australia (Finalist)
2015 Sunshine Coast Art Prize New Media Award (Finalist)
2014 McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award (Winner: MAP14, McClelland Achievement Prize)
2014 Mandorla Art Prize (Finalist)
2014 DUO Percival Photographic Portrait Prize (Finalist)
2013 Perth Clip Award, Perth Centre of Photography (Winner)
2012 Mandorla Art Prize (Finalist)
2012 Moran Photographic Prize (Semi-finalist)
2010 Mandorla Art Prize (Finalist)
2009 The Olive Cotton Award for Portraiture, Tweed River Art Gallery (Finalist)
2008 The Olive Cotton Award for Portraiture, Tweed River Art Gallery (Finalist)
2008 Human Landscape: The Cult of Personality,Frankston Art Centre, 6 Art Prize (Winner)
2006 Inaugural William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, Monash Gallery of Art (Finalist)


COLLECTIONS

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
La Trobe University Art Museum, Melbourne
McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Victoria
Monash Gallery of Art, Melbourne
Curtin University of Technology Art Collection, Perth
National Australia Bank, Victoria
Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Australia New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery
Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne
ALP Victoria, Melbourne
Southeast Museum of Photography, Daytona, Florida, USA
Gipplsand Art Gallery, Victoria
New Norcia Museum and Art Gallery
Federation University Australia, Victoria
City of Monash, Victoria
City of Melville, Western Australia
Mona Farm Collection, NSW
Private Collections - Australia, Belgium, USA, Shanghai and Switzerland


PUBLICATIONS

2023 The World of Photography - An Introduction to the Expansive Realm of Photography - Fotonostrum Publication p202 -205
2023 Dodho Publication - Best Photographers of The Year 2023
2016 TRANSFORMATIONS: THE ART OF SONIA PAYES, Ashley Crawford, Thames & Hudson Publication
2007 SONIA PAYES: UNTITLED. PORTRAITS OF AUSTRALIAN ARTISTS, Macmillan Art Publishing

Sculpture by the Sea: Gallery, The Australian
A, Whiting, Pull on Your Best Athleisure Wear, Sydney's Sculpture by the Sea Is Back, Popsugar, 1 November 2017
S, Connellan, Take a peek at Australia’s open-air exhibition Sculpture by the Sea, Mashable Australia, 19 October 2017
E. Fortescue, James Dive and Sculpture by the Sea catch us hook, line and sinker, Arts Editor, The Daily Telegraph, 16 October 2017.
D, Sim, Sculpture by the Sea 2017: Huge outdoor exhibition on Sydney's Bondi and Tamarama beaches (images), International Business Times, 19 October 2017
S, Kahn, Sculpture by the Sea exhibition opens in Australia, Getty Images, 18 October 2017
D. Brandy, 23 striking works from this year’s Sculpture by the Sea, Business Australia, 20 October 2017

Sasha Grishin, Regenrating the future, The Article, November, 2016
Ashley Crawford, Transformations: The Work of Sonia Payes, Thames & Hudson, Port
Melbourne, Victoria, 2016.
John Cunningham and Robert Lindsay, Map 14 Sonia Payes Parallel Futures, exhibition
catalogue, 2016
Belinda Kochanowska, Sonia Payes, Imaginarium, Queensland Centre for Photography
Emerging Curators Program, online exhibition, December 2014 - February 2015. pp
26-29
‘Sonia Payes Icescape & Interzone’, Katelyn-Jane Dunn (ed), Common Ground, Issue 2,
2014, pp 45-51
Design is Difference: agIdeas 2013, Sonia Payes, pp.286-291, agIdeas Press 2013
Ashley Crawford, Interzone, exhibition catalogue, Fehily Contemporary, 2013
Ashley Crawford, ‘Abstract Reality’, Shanghai Contemporary, Australia China Art
Foundation, 2012
Professor Lin Lu, ‘Surrealistic World Full of Classical Charm’, Fantastic Dreamland,
exhibition catalogue, 2012
Sun Yongkang ‘Dancers in a Dreamy Fantasyland of Images’, Fantastic Dreamland,
exhibition catalogue, 2012
Professor Marsh Anne, Luminous Interlude, exhibition catalogue, Fehily
Contemporary, 2011
Professor Anne Marsh, Look: Contemporary Australian Photography since 1980,
Macmillan Art Publishing, 2010, pp. 6-7, 80-81, 151, 177
Sonia Payes, Untitled. Portraits of Australian Artists, introduction by Professor Ted
Snell, Macmillan Art Publishing, 2007
Professor Ted Snell, Portraits, exhibition catalogue, Charles Nodrum Gallery, 2006



REVIEWS AND ARTICLES

Crawford, Dr. A, Sonia Payes, Artist Profile, issue 41, p. 102-105
Sculpture by the Sea: Gallery, The Australian
A, Whiting, Pull on Your Best Athleisure Wear, Sydney's Sculpture by the Sea Is Back, Popsugar, 1
November 2017
S, Connellan, Take a peek at Australia’s open-air exhibition Sculpture by the Sea, Mashable
Australia, 19 October 2017
E. Fortescue, James Dive and Sculpture by the Sea catch us hook, line and sinker, Arts Editor, The
Daily Telegraph, 16 October 2017.
D, Sim, Sculpture by the Sea 2017: Huge outdoor exhibition on Sydney's Bondi and Tamarama
beaches (images), International Business Times, 19 October 2017
S, Kahn, Sculpture by the Sea exhibition opens in Australia, Getty Images, 18 October 2017
D. Brandy, 23 striking works from this year’s Sculpture by the Sea, Business Australia, 20 October
2017
Sonia Payes: Parallel Futures, Art Review, July 2016-09-21
Salon August 2016, Trouble Mag, 2016
Sonia Payes: Parallel Futures, Public Galleries Association of Victoria site, 2016
Sonia Payes: Parallel Futures, Only Melbourne, 2016
Dan Rule, Best in show: our pick of what’s showing in galleries around town, The Age,
July 2015
C.A.Xuan Mai Ardia, The Ten Best Australian Photographers You Should Know, The
Culture Trip, December 2015.
Sasha Grishin, Sculpture in the bush: Surveying ‘The McClelland’ Art Monthly, issue 277,
March 2015
John McDonald, McClelland Sculpture Survey & Awards, Sydney Morning Herald,
January 2015
WH Chong, The must see art shows of summer (Victoria), Daily Review, 16 January
2015
Sasha Grishin, McClelland Sculpture Survey sets work against the natural environment,
Sydney Morning Herald, January 2015
Danny Gocs, Face of the future in prize-winning sculpture, The Australian Jewish News,
5 December 2015
Inga Walton, Sonia Payes: Liminal Narratives, Trouble Mag, 2014
Sasha Grishin, Sculpture in the bush: a strong year for the McClelland Prize, The
Conversation, 3 December 2014
Calum Wilson Austin, Sculpture at home in the bush: Matthew Harding wins McClelland
Award, The Australian, 26 November 2014
Staff reporter, Artist wins McClelland Award for Sculpture, Frankston Standard Leader,
November, 2015
Kylie Northover, McClelland Award for sculpture, Sydney Morning Herald, November
2014
Ashley Crawford, Sonia Payes inspired by environmental destruction, Australian
Financial Review, May 2013
Robert Nelson, When art goes geometric, appreciation comes on a higher plane, The
Age, 15 May 2013
Robert Nelson, Jumping geometries, Art Info, May 2013
URL: artinfo.com.au
Bohdan Warchaomij, CLIP AWARDS winners announced at PCP, Metaphor Online, May
2013
Dan Rule, Interzone, The Age, 4 May 2013
AnQi, Sonia Payes: Video Dancers Who Make Dreamlike Images, Tide Magazine, Beijing,
November 2012. pp. 130-133
Stephen Bevis, An Invitation to Contemplation, The West Australian, July 2012
Ashley Crawford, ArtWALL09, Issue 3, Shanghai, 2011
Stephen Bevis, Visual Arts, The West Australian, October 2010
Melissa Amore, Debut - Sonia Payes, Photofile 86, April 2009
Katrina Strickland, Perspective: The valuable artful book, W.A. Financial Review,
December 2008
Pip Christmas, Rooms with a view, The West Australian, Feb 2008
Jenny Brown, The dark side of the spectrum, The Age, September 2007
Jenny Brown, The dark side of the spectrum, The Age, September 2007
Sasha Grishin, Creative callings: Artists in their own space, The Canberra Times,
September 2007
Lesley Chow, UNTITLED: Portraits of Australian Artists, Artist Profile, Spring 2007
Zoe Turner, UNTITLED: Portraits of Australian Artists, by Sonia Payes, Art Review, 30
September 2007
Ashley Crawford, Art around the Galleries, A2 Magazine: The Age, 30 June 2007
Lexi Landsman, Behind the Lens, AJN, November 2007. pp. 6-7
Alison Waters , UNTITLED: Portraits of Australian Artists, by Sonia Payes, 101
Quarterly, 2007
Clare Morgan, The Inner Sanctum, West Weekend Magazine: The West Australian,
December 2007
Clare Morgan, Face to Face with Artists in their Domain, Sydney Morning Herald,
November 2007
Simon Plant, Makers Unmasked, Visual Art: The Herald Sun, August 2007
Patricia Maunder, Artists in the frame - Sonia Payes, Metro: The Age, July 2007
David Hansen, Sight Lines Critical Guide, The Age, June 2006
Megan Backhouse, Kiss and tell, A2: The Age, February 2005
Inga Walton, Body language, The Independent Arts Review, Issue 21, February 2005
Cath Pope, Gender Odyssey, MCV, Issue 215, February 2005