A life-like portrait of a Sudanese refugee has captured the hearts of the Australian public and a top prize at the annual Archibald exhibition in Sydney.
The detailed painting has been awarded the prestigious People's Choice Award for 2016.
It will now be taken on a year-long tour of the country, along with the other finalists' entries.
A remarkable journey has been brought to life on canvas.
Sydney artist Nick Stathopoulos has painted an incredibly real, 1.3-metre-square portrait of Sudanese refugee and Sydney lawyer Deng Adut.
The portrayal depicts a strong and powerful face, lined with scars and bearing piercing eyes.
Mr Stathopoulos says that was his focus.
"I really wanted to capture an emotional quality that Deng naturally has in his face, that kind of emotional quality of his eyes, so I spent a lot of time making sure that all the scars that he had went in accurately, because they all tell a story."
Mr Adut says he originally did not want his portrait painted.
But he praises the work.
"It's a great piece of art. He's done a great job. People voted for it. I don't know, I'm not from this art world, but, when I look at the portrait, I see my inner self in the portrait. It's good. It's good that I can see what I'm thinking, what I'm doing, at that very moment."
The artist says he first saw Deng Adut when an advertisement for the University of Western Sydney went viral.
The ad documents Mr Adut's life as a former child soldier who fled what is now South Sudan and came to Australia18 years ago.
"We saw his advertisement for Western Sydney University. I found it incredibly moving. The little clip went viral, so a lot of people got to see it. My partner just said to me, 'Archibald,' and I just went, 'Wow!' But I thought, 'Oh, someone's got him, for sure.' We sent him an email with some images. That afternoon, he consented. I was so excited."
The portrait, which took three sittings and more than four months to paint, is Mr Stathopoulos's fifth entry as a finalist.
But it is the first time he has won the people's vote.
New South Wales Art Gallery director Michael Brand says the portrait was a clear winner, taking the prize by more than a thousand votes.
"The whole Archibald thing is so interesting because anyone can enter, anyone who brings their work of art here, it will be judged by the judges, but it's very much a peoples' exhibition, and people feel comfortable, I think, having an opinion in the Archibald. So to allow them to vote seems like the logical thing to do. And it's always interesting to know what the public feels about art, and they love this painting."
The People's Choice award comes with a $3,500 cash prize, but the artist says Deng Adut's appreciation is the ultimate reward.
Mr Adut, meanwhile, says he just feels very lucky.
"To come to Australia and be able to do all this, it doesn't happen to many people. So just a lucky, lucky day. I will never play lottery again, because I don't think I'll be lucky enough. There are people who deserve to win the lottery. Because, I won the lottery so far. I'm a winner, somehow, in general, just to be in this country."
