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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.

Home 6, Hedy Zahalka, 2006

by Anne Zahalka

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007 Finalist

Home 6, Hedy Zahalka, 2006

This portrait, based on Whistler's painting of his mother Arrangement in Grey and Black, was taken in my mother's home in Sydney. It joins an earlier series of work titled How Jewish is Your Home? which explored Jewish identity as it is expressed or defined through the inhabitants and materiality of different homes. My mother sits in the chair in which she spends much of her time, surrounded by her much-loved artworks and possessions. The letter holder with the word 'shalom' is the only element defining her Jewish identity and reappears in an earlier portrait sitting on the wall above. As in much of my portrait work, I have drawn on the pictorial conventions of 17th century Dutch painting, using elements from their compositions while investing them with references to contemporary life. The use of still life provides new symbolic meanings and can be seen in the other photographic works on the wall.

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007
(More information, View all 75 photos)

Solitude
Barry
Brendan, NT
Rosita

Related information

The cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987
The cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987
The cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987
The cook (Michael Schmidt/architect), 1987

Hall of mirrors

Magazine article by Naomi Cass, 2007

Naomi Cass, Director of the Centre of Contemporary Photography, in conversation with Anne Zahalka.
Lindy Lee - Birth and Death, 2006 by Robert Scott-Mitchell
Lindy Lee - Birth and Death, 2006 by Robert Scott-Mitchell
Lindy Lee - Birth and Death, 2006 by Robert Scott-Mitchell
Lindy Lee - Birth and Death, 2006 by Robert Scott-Mitchell

National Photographic Portrait Prize 2007

Previous exhibition, 2007

Photography is the most pervasive and popular medium for portraiture and makes a natural fit with the Gallery, being a natural extension of the Gallery's longstanding commitment to photography as a contemporary portrait medium.
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance
The National Portrait Gallery building front entrance

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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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