Australian Navy diver Paul de Gelder was taking part in a counter-terrorism exercise in Sydney Harbour in 2009 when he was mauled by a bull shark and came perilously close to death.
He lost two limbs in the attack but in the years since has become an unlikely global advocate for shark and marine conservation.
His story struck a chord with Queensland artist and free diver Carla Benzie, who reached out to de Gelder to paint his portrait.
"What inspires me about him is that he was attacked by a bull shark but now dedicates his whole life to conservation, awareness and education to save the sharks that almost killed him," she said.
Her painting, entitled Lighting Up Change, took her about 300 hours to complete and has been selected for The Percivals — north Queensland's premier art prize.
"I was stoked … it was a very awesome moment," the self-taught artist said.
"I want [the painting] to bring attention to the fact that in Australia, we have the Great Barrier Reef — one of the most fantastic ecosystems in the world — but we aren't doing anything to protect it."
'Unpolished gems'
The biennial art competition is one of the largest regional portrait prizes in Australia.
This year, 127 paintings and 76 photographic portraits were shortlisted for The Percivals, which opened at Townsville's Perc Tucker Regional Gallery this weekend.
Sydney artist Michael Lindeman took home the top honour, winning the main $40,000 painting prize for his self-portrait, simply entitled, I …
The $10,000 photographic prize was awarded to David Cossini for his portrait of teenage twin brothers at the Summernats car festival in Canberra.
Shortlisting judge Stephen Naylor said this year's show featured a "mixed bag" of high-profile artists and amateurs, with a good representation of local talent and "unpolished gems".
"The diversity is what really caught my attention when I looked at the range of works," Professor Naylor said.
The exhibition features plenty of well-known faces, including country music star Troy Cassar-Daley, boxer Jeff Horn, actor John Howard, federal politician Linda Burney and comedian Melissa Ritchie.
COVID-19's creative effect
Unsurprisingly, many of the other selected artworks reflect experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cairns-based photographer Brian Cassey travelled to the Aboriginal community of Yarrabah in October 2021 during an urgent door-to-door vaccination drive.
"There was a lot of negativity about being vaccinated in Yarrabah because of a lot of very untrue stories going around social media," Mr Cassey said.
It was there he met and photographed 67-year-old Leanne Bulmer, who received her first vaccination on her front verandah.
"The local Indigenous health service had organised this ice cream van to follow the doctors and the medical teams around Yarrabah, handing free ice creams to the children and those who were vaccinated if they wanted them," Mr Cassey said.
"It really made it like a carnival atmosphere.
City of Townsville councillor Ann-Maree Greaney said The Percivals helped put the city "on the map" as the arts capital of northern Australia.
She said it was heartening to have the opportunity to celebrate the arts again after two years of COVID challenges.
"Two years ago, I was standing there announcing the winners via video, so it's lovely to be able to open the gallery doors to the public to say, 'Come in and view this wonderful exhibition'," she said.
The Percivals will be on show at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery until July 3.
