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National Photographic Portrait Prize 2012 Finalist
I photographed artist, performer and model, Gideon Payten-Griffiths, at a fashion warehouse early one morning wearing leather boots and a coat. This portrait is part of my ongoing photographic exploration of descendants of Australia's early convict settlers. As a photographer, what interested me was the impact the theft of objects (of relatively small value) had on the descendants' lives. I wanted to create a link between the disappearance of the objects many generations ago and Gideon's presence today. Gideon's ancestor, Edward Humphreys, was convicted of stealing a pair of leather boots and a cloth great coat, and was transported to Australia in 1787 with the First Fleet for a seven year sentence.
The National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition is selected from a national field of entries that reflect the distinctive vision of Australia's aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.
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