It was a case of 'water under the bridge' that earnt Andrew M Lance the People's Choice award in this year's National Photographic Portrait Prize.
Lance's self-portrait, Andrew, taken under Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, Lake Burley Griffin, in Canberra, was the poplular choice of more than 2000 visitors to the 2014 portrait prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.
Lance's work is a self-portrait revealing a grand sense of scale to the scene and the lines of the bridge across the lake. He chose a long exposure technique to bring out the vivid lighting of the bridge, the water and the sitter.
The year's prize attracted 1400 entries, from which the judges selected 45 works for the exhibition. They had previously awarded the $25,000 cash prize to Andrew Cowen for his portrait of Matthew Martin.
Exhibition curator Dr Sarah Engledow said: "Andrew Lance has done Canberrans a great service by taking a shot will forever alter the perception of those who've seen it, and pass that place - their experience of the place will be overlaid by, or underpinned by, his art."
Lance's People's Choice Award earned him a day's studio hire in Melbourne or Sydney. He said: "I am very honoured. The NPPP is the premier photographic portrait prize in the country and to be selected as a finalist was already a great accolade."
The National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition will tour the following regional galleries:Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery, 22 June - 3 August; Cowra Regional Art Gallery, 16 August - 5 October; Wangaratta Art Gallery, 25 October - 14 December; Devonport Regional Gallery, 7 February - 22 March 2015.
Andrew. Photo by Andrew M Lance.
