Other finalists in a female-dominated list chosen from 60 entries,  were Aaron James McGarry, Laura Moore, Nina Mulhall, Clare Thackway and Bridget Walker. Their works make up  the exhibition, “iD2012,” which extends traditional notions of portraiture into screen-based digital media—in other words, the moving image.

Moore receives a $10,000 cash bursary from the gallery, supported by the Macquarie Group Foundation, whose head of foundation, Lisa George, announced her win today  amidst a crowed of family, friend and media, while explaining what a good match the digital award was for the foundation’s focus on young artists.

As part of the prize, Moore  will undertake a residency at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, one of the country’s leading centres for the development and presentation of contemporary art and broader cultural issues.

She told those present that she was “not an actress,” so the tears observed in  her winning entry,  shot continuously over 90 minutes, were quite genuine and conjured up  by “looking back at the child I was when I was at school…I’m really crying.”

According to the NPG’s senior curator, Christopher Chapman, the “iD” in the title of the award refers to identification, and the digital portraits selected for this exhibition present “striking expressions of identity.” He said the gallery aimed to support early career artists, but that they  would “monitor” the age range, presently 18-30, queried by some would-be entrants.

Chapman noted that the  growing interest in moving digital portraiture of the moving kind (as compared  to either photography or cinematic footage)  was amply demonstrated in the public’s ready acceptance of the NPG’s digital portrait of actress Cate Blanchett.

Chapman was joined on the judging panel by PICA Director Amy Barrett-Lennard fromPerth, and chief curator at the National Institute for Experimental Arts, Felicity Fenner.

“The five digital portraits selected for the exhibition explore portraiture from unique perspectives…they are dramatic, affecting, surprising and humorous,” he said.

Victorian finalist Nina Mulhall told Citynews that she was completing a fine art degree in photography at the VictorianCollegeof the Arts, where she had learnt  about the award. She aids she might be  influenced by cinema but that the  form awarded today  was unique – digital portraits were “still, but moving.”

The “iD 2012” exhibition will be at the National Portrait Gallery until October 28.