Finalists in the The Living Memory: National Photographic Portrait Prize
Finalists in the National Photographic Portrait Prize focus on private moments during a pandemic year.
Tom at the drain
Julian Kingma
Isolation sent children into new territory. What to do with themselves? How to negotiate their four walls, sometimes battling anxiety; how to find playfulness and resist constant screen time? Tom needs to be on the move, to create worlds within worlds. He was diagnosed with ADHD, so lockdown was particularly challenging – being told to stay home and stay indoors was excruciating for him. Yet I found optimism within him when making this portrait. While the world retreated, Tom was reminding me that happiness always exists within the simplest things.
I am Kerryn
Anne Cooper
Kerryn is my 73-year-old neighbour, who lives alone. She has had an amazing but hard life. Her kitchen – which is filled with a collection of 1970s memorabilia – is a place in which she reminisces about her youth and her time as a go-go dancer.
I’ve been meaning to…
Greg Adams
Octogenarian Bill Finlay decided to organise and declutter his vast book collection during the Covid-19 lockdown in Adelaide. He has an eclectic range of books that represents his interest in art, photography and literature, with piles of them stacked throughout his home. Bill spent his time in isolation reacquainting himself with the subjects that have been a source of inspiration to him throughout his life.
Dining room
Michael Pham
As Melbourne was brought to its knees in 2020 during the country’s most restrictive lockdown, everyday rituals were turned on their head. A jog became the only chance to socialise, clocking on meant logging in, cultural outings became virtual, and eating out came by way of delivery riders or plastic containers. I stumbled upon one such moment, with these two sharing a meal in the only place possible – the sanctuary of their car. The image captures what would normally be a standard night out in a strange new reality.
Gen
Daniel Huon Sullivan
A last-minute camping trip four hours west of Sydney in March 2020, with lockdown about to start. There was a sense of foreboding and uncertainty about the future, so the feeling was to make the best of it. I took the photograph on 35mm film.
The Living Memory: National Photographic Portrait Prize winner will be announced on July 30. The exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra runs from July 31 to November 7.
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