This is the ONE prize I would like my work to be in. Ive entered for the last 3 years. I'd really like to talk to Alison and Chris about my entries didn't get in over some of the 48 finalists, but here are my favourites. There is no question why these got in, over mine.
National Portrait Prize
Winner: The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
Josh Niland, head chef and owner of Saint Peter restaurant, is reinventing what can be done with fish, and – most importantly – with every part of the fish, in a huge effort to drastically reduce wastage. His trailblazing work has received enormous praise from the likes of Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson.
EILEEN KRAMER IS A DANCER, 2019, Hugh Stewart
Eileen Kramer is a dancer. She moved back to Australia from New York when she was 98 because she wanted to hear a kookaburra. She is 105 this year.
WONDER, 2019, Klarissa Dempsey. Its easy when you have children and get to photograph them all day.
SAM, 2018 Vivienne Noble
I was looking after Sam, one of my grandsons, one very hot day. He was thinking about what to do to cool off, so he got a few bodyboards, laid them out on the lawn, then covered them with water and liquid soap. He had been slipping and sliding around on them, and then being a typical show-off with a good sense of humour, he decided to do a headstand. Pretty tricky on a slippery surface! It really was funny to watch.
This one is great one for 'art in isolation', had it been.
LIFE IN ART, 2019 Maite Robin
Ian lives alone, but surrounded by precious things and precious memories. This corner of his world is part gallery, part theatre. His collection of notable artists is beloved, and purchased selectively and seriously. His collection of period furniture is pristine and arranged with precision. In contrast, Ian’s flamboyant personality is manifest in his dress and his drink. He is an avid traveller and storyteller. He has been to more places than anyone, and recounts intimate details of them. I captured him in a magnanimous pose of pride and conviviality. Ian lives next door.
PAPER PLANE, 2019 Sarah Rhodes
Memories of our childhood. Making childhood memories. Flying paper planes. A land lost. Time lost. Lost but renewed. Nostalgia – originally defined as the act of longing for home. A melancholy. Nostalgia now refers to feelings of sentimentality.
Also a good example of how we can use this climate we are in.
QUICKLY, BEFORE IT'S GONE, 2019 Elizabeth Looker
Jude and her granddaughter, Grace. This image reminds me of the ephemeral nature of our existence. How important it is to connect. Quickly, before it's gone – a life, the light, the moment, time.
UNTITLED, 2019 Marieka Jacobs
My series Here & There explores where – on the continuum of modernity, post-modernity and meta-modernity – the current-day experience of childhood sits. Forever innocent and hopeful, our children are the incarnation of the post-war ideals we once cherished. Yet they are also the offspring of postmodern parents. Their worlds are globalised, constructed and curated. They are also defined by complete technological immersion. The children in these images were deliberately photographed at their most ordinary. They seamlessly move between old-fashioned ‘child’s play’ and their immersive devices, simultaneously embodying the ideals of modernity and post-modernity.
This is probably my favourite. Real Sally Mann.
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