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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

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Martha Singing, 2021

Michael Wolfe

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022 Finalist

digital print on paper (frame: 113.0cm x 83.0cm depth 3.5cm)

Martha is a member of the Bendigo South Sudanese Ensemble, formed in 2019. Every week they would come together to ideate, compose, sing and practice their craft, working towards a performance celebrating their culture and heritage. This formed the project Baai ('home') which premiered in November 2021 after being postponed multiple times.

The photo was taken in The Engine Room, a black box performance space which is quite disorienting to be in when the lights are low. I wanted a sense of the subjects floating in the space, emphasising the feeling of being cut-off and isolated by the pandemic.

Courtesy of the artist

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2022

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

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