© National Portrait Gallery 2025
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023 Art Handlers' Award
Set among the tough slums of Kyazanga, Uganda, Ugandan Ssebabi is a photographic tribute to the world's greatest underdog. Godfrey Baguma, who was born with a rare and painful physical disability, was abandoned by his mother as a bringer of 'bad luck', and shunned by society. Through a chance encounter, he reinvented himself as an entertainer in a travelling show. Now 57, he has beaten the odds. While most people with his condition die by 40, he has found love, success and bought a house – a testament to human resilience and positivity.
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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