Lekhena Porter (b. 1992, Khmer/Pakeha/Ngāi Tahu) is a photographer and artist from Aotearoa New Zealand, based in Naarm Melbourne.
Working mostly on film, they make portraits across fashion, music and art, moving between commissioned and personal work. Portraiture sits at the centre of their practice, lensed from a queer perspective and rooted in identity, representation and the politics of who gets looked at. Their subjects are often queer people and people of colour, photographed with trust and collaboration.
Award: Best photo story for ‘Itchy’, Aotearoa Student Press Association, Salient Magazine.
Organiser: Photo Print Raffle, a print fundraiser for Mutual Aid for Palestinian Families, 2025.
I would like to pay respects to the original custodians of the land that the majority of these photos have been taken on, the Wurundjeri people of their Kulin Nation. I would like to acknowledge their Elders past, present and emerging. I am grateful for their care in land and water which has helped form the terrain I am fortunate to work upon. Sovereignty was never ceded, always was, always will be Aboriginal land.