After studying Film & Literature, Decadence, Gothic Fictions, Surrealism, Scandal, Sex & Sentiment, and Art, Blasphemy, Propaganda at The University of Melbourne, the scene was set for a non-linear career path to a somewhat murky and indeterminate destination.

It wasn’t until living and working abroad in Europe in the early 2000s that Hilary purchased her first second-hand Box Brownie camera, followed by a Rolleiflex, followed by an enduring commitment to the photographic artform.

Largely self-taught, Hilary returned to Australia where she worked as a freelance photographer and writer for The Age and various publications including Secrets Magazine where she specialised in arts features, profiling Australian Artists in their homes and studios.

The recipient of a 2019 Creative Victoria grant, Hilary undertook a residency in Crete which allowed her access to archaeological sites and time to focus on her fine art photography. Hilary’s work has been featured in the Head On Portrait Prize and Photo Festival, the Martin Kantor Portrait Prize, The Moran Portrait Prize, The Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Castlemaine Arts Open Festivals and the Gothic to Sublime exhibition at Cascade Art Gallery.

Travel has become a central and vital element to Hilary’s photographic practice. Hilary chooses territories that bear the traces of deep time and retain a memory of the past. Thus extreme terrains such as glacial landscapes in Greenland, Jurassic cliffs in Tasmania, subterranean caves and archaeological sites in Greece continue to be sites of fascination and inspiration.

Today Hilary Finch lives in Castlemaine, working on her large-scale photographic artworks, surrounded by books, with her cat Edith overseeing the creative output and the food bowl.