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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.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Portrait of My Mother As An Ethno-Futurist Icon, 2023

Sammaneh Pourshafighi

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023 Finalist

digital photograph on paper (frame: 102.1cm x 74.1cm depth 2.0cm)
Portrait of My Mother As An Ethno-Futurist Icon, 2023

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.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023
(More information, View all 47 photos)

The Priestess
Derek
Shirley

Other NPPP photos from Sammaneh Pourshafighi
(More information)

A million moons: Self-portrait as an Iranian woman, 2023 Sammaneh Pourshafighi
2024 Finalist

Related information

Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk
Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk
Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk
Ruby (left view), 2022 Shea Kirk

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023

Previous exhibition, 2023

The exhibition is selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.
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The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance

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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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