Shea Kirk’s Portrait Of Friend Wins The 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize
Image: Winner of the 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize, Shea Kirk with his portrait of friend and fellow artist, Emma Armstrong-Porter. Image: Mark Mohell/supplied
A portrait of fellow-artist and friend Emma Armstrong-Porter taken by Shea Kirk has won the 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP).
Kirk takes home the $30k cash prize from the National Portrait Gallery, along with $20k worth of Canon equipment. The winning portrait is half of a stereoscopic pair from the Vantages series by Kirk.
When speaking about his thoughts behind the portrait, Kirk said that the 鈥�self and sense of a person in a portrait for me is often thought of [as] more than just a face and hands, it鈥檚 an essence of the whole.鈥�
鈥淥ver the past 6 years I have been inviting people over to my home studio to sit in front of simple backdrops and make portraits,鈥� Kirk said.
鈥淭his portrait is of my now good friend Emma, which we made together during our first meeting. I wanted to create the idea of the body as a record. We are our faces as much as we are our limbs, extremities, our nooks and crannies.鈥�
Armstrong-Porter is also a NPPP finalist and spoke about Kirk鈥檚 portrait of their, saying that it reflects their evolving outlook and attitude towards their body.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e always struggled with the size of my body, from being extremely underweight to now being overweight,鈥� they said.
鈥淥ver the past few years working with other photographers, making portraits, I鈥檝e been processing my feelings about the transformation. I鈥檓 starting to feel more at home in my big queer body.鈥�
NPPP Judge’s Comments
The judges’ comments on Kirk鈥檚 portrait all praise it as 鈥渆ffortless,鈥� and that the work was a 鈥渃elebration of photography.鈥�
In this year鈥檚 competition, the judges had selected 47 finalists out of close to 2400 entries, with one of the judges and National Portrait Gallery Senior Curator, Joanna Gilmour said that the ongoing theme that emerged from the entries was going beyond or below the surface.
鈥淓ach of the works reveal sitters who have presented their quirks or flaws or vulnerabilities, and photographers who have gently yet uncompromisingly allowed their sitters to be themselves,鈥� she said.
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