Sydney portrait photographer Gary Grealy has won the 2017 National Photographic Portrait Prize with a photo of former ABC news reader Richard Morecroft and painter Alison Mackay.
"Gary Grealy’s portrait is a wonderful collaboration with the sitters, Richard and Alison. He has beautifully conveyed a mixture of subdued emotions in a simple, direct but captivating image" said George Fetting, guest judge for the 2017 Prize.
"For me, the contrasting facial expressions, body language and soft side lighting combine to produce a painterly quality of a time gone by. It’s a meticulous work cloaked in curiosity and intrigue, with the furtive smile to seduce the viewer."
Grealy has won $25,000 cash from the Portrait Gallery and a Profoto B1 location kit courtesy of CR Kennedy.
Richard Morecroft & Alison Mackay, 2016. Photo by Gary Grealy. Winner, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "Richard Morecroft is a former ABC news presenter and an accomplished landscape photographer, with his work held in The Australian Parliament House Collection. Alison Mackay is a masterful painter – she has works in major collections and has been a finalist in many Australian art prizes, as well as running art workshops with numerous leading Australian artists. My portrait of Richard and Alison is about a partnership in life and work. The pair have co-authored books and created features for magazines; they also jointly and individually exhibit their art."
The 2017 competition marks the first time that two finalists have been awarded title of Highly Commended: John Benavente for his portrait "Renaissance Rose", and Brett Canet-Gibson for his portrait "Mastura".
"John Benavente’s lovely portrait displays a teenage girl that could have been created by an old master painter of the 16th century," said Fetting. "She exudes composure beyond her years in this monochrome image, with beguiling eyes. I am drawn back to it over and over again."
Renaissance Rose, 2016. Photo by John Benavente. Highly Commended, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "I use photography as a means to document the world around me and people in my life. I photograph people in their natural environment because I want to preserve a moment in time. My recent focus has been on portraits that capture mood through light and composition reminiscent of the great artists of the Renaissance period. This image was captured on a traditional film camera."
Fetting was unable to separate Brett Canet-Gibson's portrait of Australian-born Muslim mother of three, Mastura, and felt it was also deserving of the Highly Commended honour.
"Brett Canet-Gibson’s portrait is once again deceptively simple," said Fetting. "Photographed with natural light, it conveys a quiet confidence to the viewer. The black on black of the dress and background highlights the face and the intrigue of the slightly crooked but endearing smile."
Mastura, 2016. Photo by Brett Canet-Gibson. Highly Commended, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "This portrait of Australian-born Muslim mother of three, Mastura, was made on the city streets of Perth using natural light and a portable backdrop. Mastura works as a lifestyle and fashion blogger and marketing consultant; she is also a full-time mum. When this image was taken Mastura was only weeks away from giving birth to her third child."
Benavente and Canet-Gibson will each receive an EIZO Coloredge 24-inch monitor valued at $2,695, courtesy of EIZO.
An exhibition of the winning images and 46 finalists has opened at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and will be on display until Sunday 18 June 2017. The exhibition will then tour around Australia.
People's Choice voting is now open online at nppp.portrait.gov.au or in person outside the exhibition space. The People’s Choice winner will receive a studio and equipment rental package valued at $2,500 and a Canon EOS M5 camera valued at $1,949, supported by Sun Studios. One voter and their guest will win a hotel package including three nights’ accommodation and dinner at Crowne Plaza Canberra.
Lucinda with stung eye, 2016. Photo by Jon Reid. Finalist, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "Lucinda, after being stung on the eyelid by an unknown insect – Newcastle, NSW."David, 2016. Photo by David Darcy. Finalist, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "David at the Convict Lumber Yard, Newcastle, NSW."A moment, 2016. Photo by Millie Brown. Finalist, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "The children of East Arnhem Land (like all Yolngu people from this area) have a special relationship with the sea, as they do with the land. Late one afternoon while walking close to the beach at Nyinyikay homeland, I came across some after-school shenanigans. The energetic and fun-loving kids who live here were having the time of their life, swimming and jumping and fishing off the rocky shoreline, so I headed down to the water’s edge to join them. Peter had swum into this rock pool when I asked him to look at me – there was no shyness, no awkwardness – and then he quietly slipped back into all the fun." The Mirror, 2016. Photo by Spencer and Lloyd Harvey. Finalist, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "The mirror – Portrait of Victoria Newell. It was a whisper that spun her so. A lingering whistle that kept her close. And though still, she swore they moved. Her lips into a smile just as quickly removed. But then, again, she saw in her eye. A narrowing, a glower, oh nature defy! Surely mistaken, she looked once more. At the mirror, at the girl whose resemblance she bore."Trevor Jamieson, 2016. Photo by Brett Canet-Gibson. Finalist, National Photographic Portrait Prize 2017. "This portrait of Indigenous actor, dancer, musician and storyteller, Trevor Jamieson, was made outside in the grounds of the University of Western Australia on a spring-stained Sunday afternoon in Perth, using natural light and a portable backdrop. Performing with the Ochre Contemporary Dance Company in a production called Kaya, Trevor was about to go through his warmup process before mesmerising a sold out closing-night audience."
