CANBERRA.- Photographs from internationally acclaimed artists Robert Mapplethorpe, Larry Clark, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr and Chris Burden along with contemporary Australian artists, Rozalind Drummond and Warwick Baker call the National Portrait Gallery home during the extraordinary winter exhibition Tough and Tender.

Tough and Tender explores youth, the coming of age, intimacy and emotional vulnerability through photography. These landmark photographs, some of which have never been displayed before, explore the complexities of masculinity and gender within an intimate and raw framework composed with sensitivity and candour.

This is the first time Collier Schorr’s exquisite photographs are being seen in this country. Exhibition curator Dr Christopher Chapman says, 'Schorr’s explorations of gender and identity typify her fine art photographs which have never before been seen in Australia. In this exhibition her photographs of young German soldiers surrender to her camera.’

Tough and Tender is curated by Dr Christopher Chapman, Senior Curator, National Portrait Gallery who has maintained a long-term scholarly investigation of masculinity in visual art. He has written on the topic in his doctoral thesis which examined adolescent masculinity and themes of self-sacrifice in contemporary photography and film.

'We see boy hustlers acting tough in Larry Clark’s photos but we know they really crave protection and love. While Robert Mapplethorpe’s photos thrill to the sensation of smooth skin. These images show that when you reveal your deepest feelings, there’s always the risk of a broken heart,’ says Christopher.