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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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And then came the night, 2020

Amanda Miller

Living Memory Finalist

We sit around a fire in the yard. It is autumn during our isolation. She could be inside watching TV. But these odd times invoke primal instincts – hunt and gather, stoke the fire, huddle close. Then out comes the tablet so she can check in with her friends. I muse at the allegorical poignancy that the vision before me conjures about our world: her device-lit, disembodied face, isolated in the darkness, yet still connected to the zeitgeist. Meanwhile the fire, emblematic of a sinister threat, crackles and burns below – contained, but with the potency to potentially jump the lines at any moment.

Courtesy of the artist
© The artist

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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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