Nhan Tue Hoang, Aquarian (PORTRAIT 2024)

Post-COVID dread, jobless, and, yet, still getting ready for our next long drive to Regional NSW in the pitch dark of night. I wanted to capture the tenderness of South-West Sydney through the portraiture of my best friend, M. Sarson, that’s not often understood or seen in mainstream media outlets as our existence is often times left misrepresented, demonised, generalised, or forgotten altogether. 
 The hardships of growing up and persevering in the 'area' glimmered through his eyes on this particular night, and I had no words to really describe it. There was sentiment which engrained in us a readiness to be relentless, but also an affinity to be affectionate. Our equipment was ready, and so was the rest of our baggage and bad habits. At least there was something to look forward to.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.