The National Photographic Portrait Prize was awarded to artist Shea Kirk for his work ‘Ruby (Left view)’ 2022 which represents half of a stereoscopic pair that are part of an ongoing series titled ‘Vantages’.
This was Kirk’s fourth year as a finalist. His past images have also focussed on the nude body and the sitter’s relationship to themselves, exploring the idea of the body as a record.
In keeping with the imperative of giving voice to the sitter Shea included a statement by Emma Armstrong-Porter to accompany the work, she said;
‘I’ve always struggled with the size of my body from being extremely underweight to now being overweight. Over the past few years working with other photographers, making portraits, I’ve been processing my feelings about the transformation and how my body fits within society. I’ve begun to reclaim my skin, by designing symbols about my life so far that I’ve been getting tattooed. I’m starting to feel more at home in my big queer body.’
The prize judges commented ‘While Shea makes the portrait look effortless, this is a masterful and technically complex work where the sitter has no self-consciousness. It is as if the artist and sitter are participating equally in the transaction.’
The sitter is Kirk’s friend and a fellow-artist, who also has a work in the finalist pool titled ‘Sisters or Friends’ 2022.
On the work, Armstrong-Porter shared ‘Over the past 11 years Jessica Schwientek and I have travelled many places together. We have come to document our travels by taking portraits of each other. But we alter the presentation of our relationship depending on our location. In some places, reception staff ask if we are sisters or friends. We don’t correct them. They just give us a room with two single beds. Some international laws surrounding LGBTQIA+ relationships don’t allow us to be transparent. This photo reveals us behind closed doors on our honeymoon as a happy queer couple.’
You can view the works by all 47 finalists until 2 October in Canberra at the National Portrait Gallery.