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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.

Nova Gina takes a smoke break, 2019

Elize Strydom

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020 Finalist

Nova Gina takes a smoke break, 2019

I met Dunghutti man Dallas Webster at his apartment in Parramatta. Over four hours, I photographed the transformation from Dallas to his alter ego, Nova Gina. It's an exhausting process and Dallas needed a few smoke breaks. We chatted about what it’s like to be a gay Aboriginal teenager in regional Australia. ‘This is not a life I ever considered possible’, he said. ‘But now that I'm here, I believe I've established a name for myself and should take advantage of the platform and raise awareness about the issues that really matter to me.’

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020
(More information, View all 47 photos)

Writing on the Wall
Mr M Walarmerpui
Martin Manca
Am I living in Hell?

Related information

The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer
The mahi-mahi, 2019 Rob Palmer

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2020

Previous exhibition, 2020

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.
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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