TOMORROW

© Ryley Clarke - A person floating face-up in dark, choppy water with arms outstretched. © Ryley Clarke - Bright orange and yellow fireworks exploding against a dark night sky, with trails of sparks radiating outward. © Ryley Clarke - Rain falling at night with a tree in the foreground and bokeh-style light effects. View all images ↓
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  • Dates
    2023 - Ongoing
  • Author
  • Location Melbourne, Australia
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A cinematic coming of age story, exploring the residues of light, memory, and feeling that remains once certainty gives way.

Tomorrow explores my experiences of the world. I am drawn to chaos and contradictions, and to moments of instability and upheaval. In searching for a bittersweet understanding of these experiences, this visual story reflects the desire to understand an ever-shifting world of uncertainty and affective moments that shape me. It is equal parts a cinematic coming of age story and an observational look at a past still not comprehended.

My perceptions of the world and the future are shaped by rising global issues and the experiences that shape me. I remember my 21st birthday, in the very first days of Melbourne’s first lockdown. I was stuck in my bedroom, isolated from the world, caught in between the transition of becoming a young adult. Time stood still, yet it continued to pass. As Melbourne’s extended lockdowns interrupted our lives, the experiences I dreamed of began falling into a state of precarity. This foreboding climate stems from ruptured institutions, climate issues, global conflicts, and economic doubts, all of which shift the stability of our lives, dreams and futures.

Through photographic storytelling, this visual story weaves together three bodies of work as it moves through the pages of my time as I emerge into adulthood. This narrative aims to evoke a cinematic experience, so that I can understand the turbluent, emotional, and ever-shifting reality surrounding me. Tomorrow is likewise a study of light — sombre, chiaroscuro lighting, to portray the disillusionment and internal instability of emerging adulthood, uncertainty and affective moments.


This project is a candidate for PhMuseum 2026 Photography Grant

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© Ryley Clarke - A person floating face-up in dark, choppy water with arms outstretched.
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A person floating face-up in dark, choppy water with arms outstretched.

© Ryley Clarke - Bright orange and yellow fireworks exploding against a dark night sky, with trails of sparks radiating outward.
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Bright orange and yellow fireworks exploding against a dark night sky, with trails of sparks radiating outward.

© Ryley Clarke - Rain falling at night with a tree in the foreground and bokeh-style light effects.
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Rain falling at night with a tree in the foreground and bokeh-style light effects.

© Ryley Clarke - A cityscape at dusk under a dark, cloudy sky with city lights beginning to illuminate.
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A cityscape at dusk under a dark, cloudy sky with city lights beginning to illuminate.

© Ryley Clarke - Bright blue fireworks exploding in the night sky with streaks and sparkles.
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Bright blue fireworks exploding in the night sky with streaks and sparkles.

© Ryley Clarke - Close-up portrait of a young woman with blue lighting, dark hair, and freckles.
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Close-up portrait of a young woman with blue lighting, dark hair, and freckles.

© Ryley Clarke - A dark silhouette of a tall tree with a cloudy night sky in the background, and a small airplane flying in the distance.
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A dark silhouette of a tall tree with a cloudy night sky in the background, and a small airplane flying in the distance.

© Ryley Clarke - Image from the TOMORROW photography project
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The sun shining with a halo effect glowing around it, set against a dark background and a close-up of a small white flower on a thin brown branch against a blurred brownish background.

© Ryley Clarke - Colorful fireworks exploding against a dark night sky.
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Colorful fireworks exploding against a dark night sky.

© Ryley Clarke - Image from the TOMORROW photography project
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A dusty purple Toyota Ultima car with pink flower petals scattered on its hood and windshield, parked next to a wooden fence and trees with pink flowers.

© Ryley Clarke - Close up of a young persons' face surrounded by the cities light and bokeh.
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Close up of a young persons' face surrounded by the cities light and bokeh.

© Ryley Clarke - Image from the TOMORROW photography project
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A street scene during sunset with orange sky, silhouettes of trees and parked cars along the sides, and power lines crossing above.

© Ryley Clarke - Image from the TOMORROW photography project
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A person swinging on a rope over a calm, dark body of water at night, surrounded by trees with orange and green foliage illuminated by artificial lighting.

© Ryley Clarke - Green fireworks exploding against a dark night sky, with trails of yellow sparks radiating outward.
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Green fireworks exploding against a dark night sky, with trails of yellow sparks radiating outward.

© Ryley Clarke - Silhouetted trees beneath a green night sky with falling snow or rain.
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Silhouetted trees beneath a green night sky with falling snow or rain.