Indigenous photographic artist Wayne Quilliam has won the 2022 National Photographic Portrait Prize (NPPP) with his portrait of Aurukun man, Eric Yunkaporta, titled Silent Strength 2021.
Announced today, Friday 1 July, at the National Portrait Gallery, Quilliam has taken home the prestigious title, as well as $50,000 in prizes including a $30,000 cash prize from the Gallery.
An indigenous man who lives on Naarm Country in Melbourne, Quilliam took the striking work when attending the Laura Quinkan Indigenous Dance Festival in Far North Queensland, after he and Yunkaporta realised they shared a connection.
“We had a yarn and we realised that I had been photographing his community for a lot of years and then I just turned around and said ‘brother, could I take your photo?’ and I took two or three quick photos and that was that.”
The win is an incredible achievement, not only for Quilliam but also for his community and those he represents in his works.
“As an Aboriginal storyteller, you’re doing it for the community to ensure Aboriginal people are documented. Sometimes our communities are not shown in the right light, they’re shown for negativity.”
Quilliam said he has received criticism for portraying his subjects in a positive light and not as the incredibly offensive term of “snot nosed black kids sitting in the dirt”. He believes the best way to combat these negative stereotypes is to change the narrative.
Describing his approach to photography, Quilliam said he uses the camera as a vehicle to take viewers to a place where they can see the reality of what Indigenous communities really are, not how they have been portrayed.
“The reality is if you capture the real essence of a person and their community and their country, that’s far more energising and powerful than the negative stereotypes.”
He does note how the narrative has started to shift, with more people now willing to recognise the important roles First Nations People have played in the development of our nation, and that we are living on the land of the country’s original people. He is hopeful his NPPP win will allow him to help other Indigenous artists on their journeys.
“It will open a lot more doors for me and for others who are coming with me and behind me. If I can use the notoriety, it will bring me to open other doors for other communities, that’s my job.”
More of Quilliam’s work can be seen at the National Museum of Australia in the Connection exhibition, for which he took all the photos and videos, as well as co-curating the production with Adam Knight, over an 18-month period. The subject of his prize-winning portrait also features in Connection, where Yunkaporta and members of his community can be seen dancing in videos.
Canberra holds a special place in Quilliam’s heart as it’s where he met his wife Jodi and the pair spent seven wonderful years starting their lives together; it’s also where his career began.
“It started here, everything really started here, professionally, that’s why to bring my 13-year-old daughter back, she’s never been here and to show her where this all started and how her mum and dad’s love blossomed in this place and now to come to this, it’s a big connection for us,” he said.
Not only is Quilliam a photographer, but he is also a cinematographer, drone pilot and has recently launched Australia’s first Indigenous wine company, Mount Yengo.
To see all the National Photographic Portrait Prize finalists, head to the National Portrait Gallery; portrait.gov.au
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