© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017 Finalist
This is a portrait of Matuse, a young Australian man, taken in my studio. I gave him a bag full of clothing and asked if he would select a ‘costume’ to put on. In this portrait in simple Arab dress, I intentionally depict Matuse as a metaphor for certain prejudices and negative attitudes, conscious or unconscious, that our society at times has been conditioned to project. Here, I have purposely imposed such terms as ‘radical’ and ‘fundamental’ onto my willing subject, a young man who normally goes about in jeans and a t-shirt. Matuse is of Middle Eastern descent, and is a practising Muslim. He confronts the camera with openness, calmness and stillness. For him, the clothing is merely fabric, and not a signifier of any political stance or pretext. He also remains an honest young Aussie.
The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.
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