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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.

Esben Storm and Dusan, Cronulla, 1977, January

Carol Jerrems

gelatin silver photograph on paper (image: 20.2cm x 30.4cm. sheet: 40.5cm x 50.7cm. frame: 54.7cm x 74.2cm)
Esben Storm and Dusan, Cronulla, 1977, January

The performance of masculinity continued to preoccupy Jerrems throughout her career, and even those closest to her became actors in her photographic constructions. Here, Storm and their friend, Dusan Werner, a film editor who worked on In search of Anna, act out tough machismo: chests are puffed and jaws are raised in a virile demonstration of strength. The frame is divided almost down the centre by a doorway, with Storm occupying the light while Werner recedes into the depth of shadow, inviting a litany of interpretations that play with the idea of opposition and mirroring.

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Gift of Mrs Joy Jerrems 1981.
© The Estate of Carol Jerrems

Related information

1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems
1/2 length self portrait in mirror, wearing pyjama shirt, camera at shoulder height, 1979 Carol Jerrems

Great Experimentations

Magazine article by Rebecca Harkins-Cross, 2025

Rebecca Harkins-Cross considers Carol Jerrems’ portraiture against the backdrop of social change in the 1970s.
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems
Bobbi Sykes, Aboriginal Medical Service, 1973 Carol Jerrems

Carol Jerrems: Portraits

Previous exhibition, 2024

Carol Jerrems: Portraits is a major exhibition of one of Australia’s most influential photographers. Jerrems’ intimate portraits of friends, lovers and artistic peers transcend the purely personal and have come to shape Australian visual culture.
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
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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