Photography 

Linda has undertaken a series of photography projects. These can be viewed within this page and on the Videos page. Linda will be exhibiting her new project works from the UK and USA in 2020. 

Linda Espie is a photographer, art therapist, counsellor and published author in Australia and Japan.  She is passionate about photography and is dedicated to capturing the many ordinary aspects of everyday life. With a strong spiritual focus, Linda believes that photography is a powerful avenue of expression, one that offers contemplative opportunities and potential for expanded personal awareness and community engagement. Her great love and compassion is the alchemy that translates the ordinary into the extraordinary. Linda has successfully co-ordinated photography projects including three of her own exhibitions in Melbourne. 

Linda was awarded an annual long Artist-in-Residence at St Vincent’s hospital where she, with ethics approval, spent a year taking photos of staff and patients hands in palliative care, oncology and chronic illness wards. An exhibition of her photographs was held in 2012 and Linda was a finalist in the St Vincent’s Health Australia Quality Awards: Mission and Social Justice Award.

In 2012, Linda also raised funds and curated the only Merton exhibition to come to Australia, A Hidden Wholeness: The Zen Photography of Thomas Merton, which came from the Collections of the Thomas Merton Centre at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.  Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic and spiritual author of the twentieth century.

In the second exhibition of her work, held in 2013, Linda presented photographs she had taken over a 12 year period in Japan where she travelled to work as an international educator and consultant in death and dying, grief and trauma.

Linda's third exhibition of her work entitled In The Spirit of Hands, 2016, which displays 32 powerful black and white photographs  were taken at New Norcia, Western Australia. Linda spent time with the Monks and staff and gained a deeper insight into their work, life in community and their individual reflections about their role and mission.

The fourth exhibition, A Different Kind of Pilgrimage: Inner Noticing was opened in 2019. You can view a snapshot of this exhibition on the Videos page.

As an art therapist, Linda brings to her photography a heightened perspective and understanding. She has worked with individuals, small and large groups and within community settings with both art therapy and photography in exploring relationship, space and place. 

Linda is a highly esteemed contributor within the loss and grief field and a founding member of a number of key organisations serving the sector. 

Artist-In-Residence: St Vincent's Health

In April 2011 Linda was awarded an Artist-In-Residence position at St Vincent’s Hospital. The one year position supported Linda’s work to further develop as a photographer.

Her first exhibition “The Voice of Hands: St Vincent’s Staff Speak in Action” presented 17 photographs, both black and white and color, and opened in November 2011 for three months. This exhibition was nominated for an award within the St Vincent’s Health Australia Quality Awards 2012 and gained one of three finalists positions in the Mary Aikenhead Ministries Award.

Linda also worked on several other photo essays during her year-long residency, including:

• Depictions of grief in bereavement

• Palliative care, cancer care and the essence of dying

• A Spirituality of Silence, Witnessing and Compassionate