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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.

James Vu Anh Pham and Tara Jade Samaya from 'The Knowledge Between Us', n.d.

Pippa Samaya

inkjet print on paper
James Vu Anh Pham and Tara Jade Samaya from 'The Knowledge Between Us', n.d.

Dancers James Vu Anh Pham and Tara Jade Samaya have performed with major dance companies in Australia and around the world, including working together at Melbourne’s Chunky Move with acclaimed Dutch choreographer Anouk Van Dijk. This image was taken during the shoot for the award-winning 60-second dance film The Knowledge Between Us, produced by the Samaya Wives.

Pippa Samaya explores the physicality of dance against the natural landscape in many of her films and photographs. Interviewed for RealTime in 2017, Pippa described the role of dance in her work: ‘dance allows me to capture things that are outside of myself and it’s purely visual. Dance provided me a visual language for all those complex, inner emotional states of being human. It enabled me to express things that words can’t and allows a level of empathy that’s otherwise difficult to find.’

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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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