{"id":592418,"date":"2026-08-22T08:54:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T08:54:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/592418\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T08:54:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T08:54:21","slug":"national-photographic-portrait-prize-nathan-beard-wins-50000-for-intimate-image-of-late-aunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/592418\/","title":{"rendered":"National Photographic Portrait Prize: Nathan Beard wins $50,000 for intimate image of late aunt"},"content":{"rendered":"

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August 21, 2026 \u2014 7:00pm<\/p>\n

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Nathan Beard\u2019s achingly intimate photograph of beloved, elderly aunt Mae Khong bathing after a debilitating fall was never intended to be seen by anyone outside the family, much less win Australia\u2019s leading photographic portrait prize.<\/p>\n

He grabbed the frame almost instinctively, slipping in and out of the bathroom with his camera as Mae, 84, weary and in pain, yet fiercely independent insisted on bathing herself.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Beard with his winning work at Canberra\u2019s National Portrait Gallery.Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t intending to shoot her for a particular outcome or a prize,\u201d says Beard. \u201cI just wanted to record that moment because she was being so bold and courageous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the poignant image has won the $50,000 National Photographic Portrait Prize. His success has been made bittersweet by Mae\u2019s death last month and the sense he has lost one of his most precious connections to his Thai heritage.<\/p>\n

Khong came to Australia shortly after Beard was born and helped raise him after his mother went back to work. After his mother\u2019s death in 2019, she became his \u201csecond mother\u201d.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"\u201cI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis idea of maternal transference and bonding with my auntie definitely felt more pronounced,\u201d he says. \u201d And it really focused my attention on sort of trying to record or observe and just hold on to her through making work.\u201d<\/p>\n

He recalls Khong as a strong character who was also capable of great tenderness.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was always right,\u201d he says. \u201cShe would never back down. And, more often than not, she probably was. But she was also incredibly very tender and loving and caring and would give her all to try to support you. She was extremely giving with her time and was relied upon a lot by her community as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up in Perth, Beard recalls being surrounded by \u201cThai-ness\u201d, from domestic shrines and religious observances to the herbs and vegies his mother grew in their garden. As a youngster, he occasionally pushed back at this perceived \u201cotherness\u201d from his schoolmates.<\/p>\n

\"ThisThis year\u2019s prize-winning image. Nathan Beard<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember feeling a little bit frustrated with certain cultural expectations and being slightly bratty as a kid,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I never felt any sense of shame about the culture. If anything, growing up in a mixed race household allowed me to seek out solidarity and friendships with other people that came from similar mixed cultural backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Khong] was the last surviving member of her generation from the Thai side of the family. So bound up with her was this expectation of connection to Thai-ness and how delicate that was.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the three judges, Isobel Parker Philip, describes her emotional response to the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I thought about all the works that we were installing, that was the one that lingered for its emotional intensity,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you look at it, you can feel what it would have been like to sit in the room with her. It reminds me of my grandmother. You can kind of feel a palpable connection, a kind of empathetic connection, even though you can\u2019t see her face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melbourne-based Beard says the fact his subject is simultaneously concealed and exposed allows viewers to consider their own experiences<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is like a blank slate for people to be able to project a lot of their own associations with mortality and ageing and of relatives that they might have had to care for or may anticipate having to care for,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s a universality in that kind of image making.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beard says his Auntie would possibly not have understood the fuss around the picture but nevertheless she would have been very proud of his success.<\/p>\n

Beard has earmarked most of the prize money to go towards making new work, but some of it will be used for an emotional trip back to Thailand next month.<\/p>\n

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