National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023 Finalist
An ethno-futurist perspective asks 'Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?' It seeks to answer these questions by creating a bridge between the national and the international, between and beyond the collective pasts and futures of our ethnic culture. This is a portrait of my mother Maryam, an Iranian migrant and Australian citizen. She is a keeper of our familial ancestral knowledge, as well as an enduring advocate for diasporic Iranian culture, having established the first Persian language school on the Gold Coast, Queensland. I wanted to capture Maryam's colourful personality and dedication to future thinking, alongside her transcultural identity.