Sydney Contemporary: Photo Sydney 2025

Caterina Pacialeo + Tina FiveAsh

About the Artists

Sydney-based photographers Caterina Pacialeo and Tina FiveAsh present a compelling visual dialogue spanning over a decade, in their upcoming joint exhibition as part of Photo Sydney this September. Though distinct in their approaches, both artists share an enduring fascination with the invisible forces that shape our experience of the world—whether elemental, spiritual, or emotional.

Caterina Pacialeo captures the profound and often poetic interplay between the natural landscape and the four classical elements—Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. Her work reflects a deep meditation on the human soul and condition, evoking a sense of stillness, transience, and the primal connection between nature and being. These elemental landscapes speak to something timeless, anchoring the viewer in both place and inner reflection.

In contrast yet in harmony, Tina FiveAsh explores metaphysical terrain through the use of text-based imagery, investigating themes of consciousness, memory, and life beyond death. Her photographs feature weathered signage and glowing neon texts, often set against twilight backdrops—a liminal time of day that echoes her interest in thresholds between seen and unseen realms. These evocative scenes, captured in both urban and natural environments, blur the line between the material world and the imagined or spiritual.

Together, Pacialeo and FiveAsh offer a body of work that is both grounded and ethereal—a meditation on presence, impermanence, and the unseen threads that connect humanity to nature and to each other. The exhibition invites viewers to pause, contemplate, and feel their way into the quiet spaces where earth meets sky, word meets silence, and life meets mystery.

List of Works