© National Portrait Gallery 2026
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia
Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196
National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 Finalist
‘In this series, I use archival Dior hats to investigate the tension between mid-century decorum and contemporary excess. As an immigrant, I encountered the “trashy” imagery of the Melbourne Cup long before moving to Australia. These scenes of public euphoric intoxication, often swept under the rug, became a significant contemporary cultural reference point for me. By restaging an iconic Cup photo in drag, I pair the elegance of a 1960s Dior hat with the debris on the grass. This performance transforms a high-status artefact into a tool for queer spectacle, interrogating the shifting associations of class, fashion and national identity.’
Hong Kong-born Scotty So is a Naarm/Melbourne-based artist. Driven by the thrill of camp, he explores the often-contradictory relationship between humour and sincerity, creating fictional scenes that slightly distort our sense of the familiar.
The People’s Choice Award is generously supported by the Calvert-Jones Foundation, with the artist who wins the most votes receiving $10,000.
Voting closes Wednesday 30 September 2026.
Serena Bentley talks to multidisciplinary artist Scotty So about drag, mother figures, holograms and the performative nature of identity.
from Saturday 22 August
The National Photographic Portrait Prize 2026 marks the end of one of the Gallery’s longest-running exhibitions.
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