Chris Hopkins
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Chris Hopkins is a freelance documentary photojournalist based in Melbourne, Australia.
Born and raised in rural Victoria, Australia, he travelled extensively internationally for six years before embarking on a photographic career. After graduating from college in 2010, Chris’ creative and intuitive eye for a story saw him hired by one of Australia’s largest daily newspapers; The Age. His work has since been featured in publications such as The New York Times, CNN, Rolling Stone, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, The Guardian, The Global Mail, AFR Magazine and for UNHCR.
Chris’ freelance work has a footing in humanitarian story telling and within this broad brushstroke, explores themes such as race, culture and mental health. As a photojournalist Chris believes he is in a privileged position to give voice to those that would otherwise be silent and ‘to show the extraordinary in the ordinary’. His work from Australia and around the globe aims to bring human rights issues to the forefront of public awareness with the intent to change governmental policy.
Over the past 5 years Chris has covered important humanitarian issues, both worldwide and within Australia, including cultural marginalisation in Indonesia, refugee assimilation, the mental health of war survivors in Uganda and the dramatic rise of homelessness in Australia.
The demands of being a visual storyteller in todays evolving media landscape means Chris has adapted to the modern day role of a photojournalist and he incorporates video, multimedia and features writing into many of his projects.
Chris is currently a stringer with Getty Images and Fairfax Media.
2017 - Siena International Photography Awards, 2017 - Melbourne Press Club 'Quills', 2016 - Siena International Photography Awards, 2015 - United Nations Australia Media Awards, 2015 - Pacific and Australia Newspaper Awards (PANPA), 2015 - Melbourne Press Club 'Quills', 2015 - Siena International Photography Awards, 2012 - The Walkley Foundation
- Breaking news
- Conflict
- Corporate
- Editorial
- Events
- Military embed
- Portrait
- Reporting
Asha - Home[Less]
Chris Hopkins
In May 2016 Chris photographed a series of portraits of Melbournes’ homeless community in a makeshift camp in the city square. Published by The Age newspaper, the intimate headshot's included amongst others, Asha Lang. Six months later Chris was contacted by a woman living over 1600km’s away named Jill*, Asha’s granddaughter, who after seeing the portraits online was adamant she had found her Grandfather. After 13 years, Jill and the rest of her family were about to be re-united with the man they believed deceased. At her request, Chris found Asha living between a homeless camp on Melbourne’s Flinders Street and a hidden traffic island behind the famous Arts Centre spire.
Upon hearing about his families contact Asha immediately began to weep. Abused by an alcoholic father and molested by a town priest as a child, Asha left home and became a drifter at the age of 15. Suffering anxiety and depression he would ultimately be institutionalised, before living on the streets of Melbourne.
Mentawai - Educational Genocide
Chris Hopkins
The shaman Amun Masit Dere faces an uncertain future in the jungled Sarereiket regions of Siberut Island, part of the Mentawai archipelago off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. A surf mecca more commonly known for its impeccable offshore breaks, it is also home to an indigenous tribe of traditional hunters and gatherers of animist faith, living under the traditional lore of Arat Sabulungan; a complex belief system that gives reverence to the spirit of their ancestors and all that is natural. In the 1950s the Indonesian government implemented a program to integrate tribal groups into conventional society by building purpose built villages and forcibly removing the tribes from their traditional land.
Genocides Curse
Chris Hopkins
After the Rwandan genocide in 1994 the Tutsi minority turned the table on their persecutors and began their revenge against the Hutu. As a result Lawrence, a Hutu, fled to neighboring Tanzania. He returned in 1996, only to be imprisoned. Released seven years later, he returned to his wife and two children, and three days later they had their home burned down as they slept. As he tried to escape, the molten plastic tarpaulin used as roofing, collapsed onto his back. He suffered third-degree burns to his back and arms and spent four months in hospital. His wife and children were killed in the attack.