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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.

The maws — of emptiness, 2024

Shoufay Derz

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025 Finalist

pigment print on Hahnemühle cotton rag satin paper (image: 135.1cm x 109.7cm. sheet: 137.0cm x 110.0cm. frame: 139.0cm x 113.3cm depth 5.5cm)
The maws — of emptiness, 2024

‘Ghyslaine Gau appears here as both subject and fragment. Born in Marseille to Martinican parents and raised in the suburbs of Paris, she is a dancer, performer and part of the collective Wusinsans with Constanza Mendoza and I. Inspired by Édouard Glissant’s concept of the abyss, this portrait – shot on film – gestures toward the unknown between self and other. It reflects the impossibility of fully capturing or knowing another, embracing relationality and absence. Resisting conventional portraiture, it offers a glimpse into a moment that remains incomplete, echoing the limits of language and perception.’

Shoufay Derz is an interdisciplinary artist working on Gadigal land/Sydney. Drawing on poetic and philosophical frameworks, her practice explores themes of transformation, absence and shared uncertainties.

People's Choice Award

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025

The People’s Choice Award is generously supported by the Calvert-Jones Foundation, with the artist who wins the most votes receiving $10,000.

Voting closes Sunday 28 September 2025.

Submit vote

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025
(More information, View all 48 photos)

Grace Tame – Between the Sea and the Sky
Artist Thom Roberts
Eldest daughter's freedom
Waiting on the wet

Related information

Untitled #01 (from the series Code Black/Riot), 2024 Hoda Afshar
Untitled #01 (from the series Code Black/Riot), 2024 Hoda Afshar
Untitled #01 (from the series Code Black/Riot), 2024 Hoda Afshar
Untitled #01 (from the series Code Black/Riot), 2024 Hoda Afshar

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2025

Current exhibition

from Saturday 16 August

The NPPP is an annual prize for Australian photographers. The year’s most outstanding photographic portrait is awarded a $30,000 cash prize and photographic equipment valued at $20,000 courtesy of our Imaging Partner, Canon Australia.
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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