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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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You came out of me, 2012

by Nina Mulhall

Finalist, Macquarie Digital Portraiture Award iD2012
Single channel HD video

You came out of me, 2012 by Nina Mulhall
Video: 13 minutes

You came out of me is a phrase one of the subjects repeats over and over in her attempts to enact her mother; to capture as per the artist’s instructions, her mother’s mannerisms, attributes, quirks, expressions, her habits. Separate to the artist’s explicit instructions were her sneaky, secret expectations, hidden from the subject’s understanding but actually forming the work’s basis: to capture the ultimately complex nature of our relationships with our mothers, and our limitations in understanding and representing them. In transition from self into mother and back again, a portrait of their mother, their relationship with their mother, and an unwitting self-portrait is revealed.

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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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