DAVID Cossini’s portrait of Ugandan man Godfrey Baguma has been announced as  the $2000 Art Handlers’ Award for the 2023 National Photographic Portrait Prize.

Art Handlers Jessica Kemister and Jacob Potter have selected their favourite work, one which the artist describes as “a photographic tribute to the world’s greatest underdog.”

The portrait, titled “Ugandan Ssebabi” 2022 is set in the slums of Kyazanga, Uganda.

“Godfrey Baguma, who was born with a rare and painful physical disability, was abandoned by his mother as a bringer of ‘bad luck’, and shunned by society,” Cossini explained. “Through a chance encounter, he reinvented himself as an entertainer in a travelling show. Now 57, he has beaten the odds. While most people with his condition die by 40, he has found love, success and bought a house – a testament to human resilience and positivity.”

Kemister and Potter said they had selected Cossini’s work because it was bright, bold and joyful.

“We found the image of Godfrey and the turkey so engaging and it immediately made us want to dive deeper into the story of the work,” they said, adding that Cossini’s composition cleverly positioned the subject against the billowing sheets of coloured fabric in background in tones of pinks and reds, echoing this visual likeness in the red wattle and legs of the turkey with Godfrey’s suit. A single turquoise string creates a connection between the figures both visually and in reality.”

The winner of the 2023 NPPP will be announced on June 16 by Portrait Gallery director Bree Pickering. The exhibition opens to the public on June 17.