Matildas relive shootout glory for national portrait

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Matildas relive shootout glory for national portrait

The Matildas’ 2023 World Cup quarter-final triumph against France, which ended with a history-making penalty shootout, will be commemorated with an artwork at the National Portrait Gallery.

The Matildas’ 7-6 triumph on penalties made them the first *********** football side to reach the final four of a World Cup, capturing the attention of a nation and changing the perceptions of women in sport.

Sydney-based artist and filmmaker Angela Tiatia has asked the World Cup squad of 23 Matildas to re-live the tension of the 10-round shootout for the video artwork.

Some of the players had never re-watched those nail-biting moments, said Tiatia.

“It elicited such emotional reactions, including visible goosebumps from the players, cementing for me what a privilege and inspiration it is to create this portrait,” she said.

Players Clare Hunt, Clare Wheeler, Courtney Nevin and Teagan Micah were on hand following a friendly match against Argentina on Monday night as the project was announced at the gallery in Canberra on Tuesday.

The Matildas are currently ranked at a 20-year low of 16th in the world and will be hoping they can return to the heights of 2023 with the appointment of coach Joe Montemurro.

While Montemurro sets his sights on silverware at a home Asian Cup in 2026, the National Portrait Gallery has artistic aspirations instead.

The video portrait is its most ambitious commission yet, according to director Bree Pickering.

“Some subjects, like the Matildas, need to be depicted in sound and motion or both,” she said.

Due to broadcast rights restrictions, the artwork can’t actually include footage of the shootout, so Tiatia has decided to take a more artistic approach and hopes the result will be like watching a moving painting.

She filmed with 14 members of the 2023 squad at a training camp in Houston in February, and hopes to film with injured striker Sam Kerr in London come July.

Football Australia interim chief executive Heather Garriock said watching the 2023 squad capture the hearts of Australians was one of the most powerful moments she has ever experienced.

“This portrait is more than a tribute to feats on the pitch, it’s a testament to the cultural shift they helped lead, and the legacy they continue to build for women and girls,” Garriock said.

The artwork will be finished later in 2025 and is slated to show at the gallery in Canberra over summer before embarking on a tour.

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