CommBank Matildas players Clare Hunt, Clare Wheeler, Courtney Nevin and Teagan Micah joined National Portrait Gallery Director Bree Pickering today to announce a major new video portrait of all 23 players from the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ Final Squad.
The portrait, by acclaimed Sydney-based artist and filmmaker Angela Tiatia, will celebrate the team that captivated the country and shifted the dial on female representation in sport. The work is a study – in motion – of the players’ physicality and mental focus as they approach the pitch.
Bree Pickering said the portrait is the most ambitious commission to date for the Gallery. Filmed at the CommBank Matildas training camps in Houston, London and Melbourne, the portrait will feature all 23 players from the historic FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ squad.
The work will capture the athleticism, skill and immense presence of these athletes, as well as the cultural change they imbued, she said.
‘In 2023, the CommBank Matildas changed how we think about and follow professional sport in Australia. The team captured the hearts of die-hard, life-long sports fans and introduced millions of new people to the joy of football and sports fandom. This extraordinary group of athletes came together – and brought us with them – in an era-defining campaign that so many Australians will never forget.
‘We are so excited to work with Angela Tiatia to honour the legacy of this exceptional group of players – and the magnitude of their impact during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™,’ Pickering said.
As part of the shoot, Tiatia asked players to relive the nail-biting penalty shoot-out against France that took them into the semi-final. ‘Some of the players had never watched that moment back, and it elicited such emotional reactions, including visible goosebumps, from the players, cementing for me what a privilege and inspiration it is to create this portrait.’
Angela Tiatia is a Samoan/Australian artist based in Sydney. In 2022 she received Australia’s most prestigious award for contemporary moving image art, the Ian Potter Moving Image Commission. That work, The Dark Current, debuted at ACMI (the Australian Centre for the Moving Image) in 2023 and has since won the Fisher’s Ghost Award (2023) and toured nationally and internationally, including at Frieze London, and inclusion at symposiums at Tate Modern and the Venice Biennale.
‘Angela’s portrait is a moving-image artwork that will capture the enormity of the CommBank Matildas 2023 campaign and what it meant to Australia. We look forward to launching it later this year, and having it on view at the Gallery over summer. It will travel as part of our national touring program, so people across Australia get to experience this exceptional new work,’ Pickering said.
Football Australia interim CEO and former Matildas midfielder, Heather Garriock, said:
‘As a former Matilda, a mother of young footballing girls, and someone who has dedicated my life to this game, watching the 2023 squad capture the heart of the nation was one of the most emotional and powerful moments I’ve ever experienced. The CommBank Matildas didn’t just inspire a generation – they united a nation.
‘To now see women’s football recognised by the National Portrait Gallery is incredibly special. What an honour it is for the CommBank Matildas to take their place among the legends of Australian sport and public life. This portrait is more than a tribute to the feats on the pitch, it’s a testament to the cultural shift they helped lead, and the legacy they continue to build for women and girls.’
This portrait commission is supported by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
FOR FURTHER MEDIA INFORMATION
Rachel Hopkins media@npg.gov.au 0408 491 545
Katrina Hall kathall@ozemail.com.au 0421 153 046
