The National Portrait Gallery has announced nine finalists for the Digital Portraiture Award 2017:
Mundatju Munugurr , NT
Timothy Hillier, VIC
Patrick Bell, QLD
Ralph Kenke, NSW
Gutiarra Yunupiu, NT
Sabella D’Souza, NSW
Sue Healey, NSW
Josh Owen, ACT
Samantha Sommariva, VIC
Judge and Director of Learning and Visitor Experience at the Portrait Gallery, Karen Vickery, commends the work of these nine finalists; ‘The judges were impressed by the quality of entries this year, particularly in the area of sound application. Themes of female, male, queer and racial identity flow through many of the finalists’ works. Each one is beautifully executed in the exploration of identity, contributing a different voice and interpretation,’ said Vickery.
Sophie Hyde, To Look Away – Tilda, 2015, single-channel HD digital video, duration: 18 minutes 9 seconds (looped) – 2016 Digital Portraiture Award finalist
‘There are also some firsts this year. Two artists from the Northern Territory entered individuals but created their works side-by-side. While selected independently, their works speak to each other in a unique and expressive way. For the first time in the history of the award the judges have selected an installation piece as one of the finalists, a work that investigates the ubiquitous nature of selfie culture and may provide an interactive component for our visitors,’ adds Vickery.
Jacobus Capone, Dark Learning (act 9), 2015, single channel HD video, duration: 2 minutes 12 seconds – 2015 Digital Portraiture Award finalist
The National Portrait Gallery’s Digital Portraiture Award celebrates and cultivates dynamic portraiture of various forms. The winner will be announced at the exhibition launch on Friday 1 December 2017 at 11am, receiving $10,000 cash courtesy of the Portrait Gallery and a residency valued at $15,000 at The Edge, the State Library of Queensland’s digital culture centre for experimentation in science, art, technology and enterprise. Finalists’ work will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery and online from 1 December 2017 until 18 February 2018.
Tiyan Melissa Kilie Baker, Yiyi is tired after running at Yong He Jia Yuan park, Beijing 2014, 2014, single channel HD video, duration: 4 minutes 42 seconds – 2015 Digital Portraiture Award winner
Established in 2012, the Digital Portraiture Award is an annual event intended to extend traditional notions of portraiture and to reflect the National Portrait Gallery’s commitment to fostering artists with an interest in contemporary technology. Entries can include film, stop-motion animation, soundscape, music video, game or robot – each conveying notions of selfhood and identity confined to physical likeness, in the traditional sense of a portrait. Finalists are chosen from an open call for entries by a panel of judges comprising of Portrait Gallery staff and external experts in digital art.
