2019

CAT

ALOG

UE O

F W

ORKS

CONTENTS

Welcome Trent Sayers, CEO, RACT Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Adam Norris There There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Alyce Bailey Gumnuts and Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Arabella Phillips Navigating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Ariel Ruby Iris and Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Brodie Weeding Garbo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Chas Hughes A Night at the Buffet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Corinna Howell Portrait of Jan Hogan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Ellena Munday Stillness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Emma Barratt “Charlie” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

George Kennedy Mongrel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Hanna Batstone The Barely Living Tasmanian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Harry Holcombe-James My Dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Jacob Collings Moon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Jasmin Ellis Poppy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Jessica Horton Rest At Last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Joel Parkinson Within Without . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Joelle Lanfranconi A World For Myself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Joshua Andree Self Portrait with Overturned Wheel Barrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Katelyn Geard Athol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Laura Johnson Head Girl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Milly Crombie Mickey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Nicola Gower Wallis Laura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Rebecca Whyte Not Contemporary Enough . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Rhianna Gumley Tim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Sam Nolan History in the Middle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Shantelle Perry Skies During Wartime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Sharifah Emalia Al-Gadrie Your Mother’s Eyes, Your Father’s Nose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Sidney Davies 730 Days (For The People) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Tara Bursic 16 Year Old Me & OCD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Tilley Wood Erin Our Star . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Tim Coad Self-Portrait at 22, July 4th 2019 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Wesley Miles The Scream of the Scratch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Zoe Grey Mum and Dad and Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

1

It’s hard to believe we are now into the 12th year of the RACT Insurance Tasmanian Portrait Prize . With every passing year, we see more entries, draw larger crowds of visitors to the exhibitions and, without a doubt, the standard of the entries stays consistently high . The fact that these pieces come from young artists in our neighbourhood is a testament to the Tasmanian artistic community and how well renowned the RACT Insurance Tasmanian Portrait Prize is considered across Tasmania (and beyond) .

RACT Insurance is proud to support this initiative that gives young and emerging Tasmanian artists a platform to display their creative talents while recognising a living Tasmanian influential to them . It is tremendously important to many Tasmanians to see the continued success of the RACT Insurance Tasmanian Portrait Prize and the support it is receiving from Tasmanian artists . We have continually worked to grow the Tasmanian Portrait Prize’s prestige – last year we increased the prize to $10,000, which we are proud to offer our winner again in 2019 .

My sincere thanks go to the members of the judging panel for supporting the RACT Insurance Tasmanian Portrait Prize, the artists for participating, and the team of committed individuals who work throughout the year to ensure the continued success of this competition .

Congratulations to all those who entered, and especially to those shortlisted for this touring exhibition . I would like to take this moment to also wish all entrants the very best in their future artistic endeavours .

TRENT SAYERS CEO, RACT Insurance

TRENT SAYERSCEO, RACT Insurance

2

As I sit to write these words I begin to wonder how best to condense the layers within my thinking . I start casting pebbles out across the black water and count the ripples as markers in my investigation .

The first ripple began with the rupture of a mind, after knowing the pain of rejection . The second, the adaptation of self with the conflict of identity . The third, the surgeon who carefully sutured the pieces back together . I think about that pebble striking the black water, and how those ripples fractured out . I sit at the edge and gaze into the shallows as I always have, looking for those pieces I carved from my body . Through all this I’m left contemplating what it means to be present and absent and how they solely exist . I guess in a way they don’t . For there is a presence left by those that came before, in the way they moved about in the world, in acts of comfort or in passion .

There is, and always will be an absence and a presence, the rest is just all in-between . A constant layering of sunlight and dust transitioning from one form to the next in a constant echo of metamorphosis . Which in turn brings me to my title, alone the word “there” exists to point our attention towards a desired target, and yet once repeated we are left with one body and two arms pointed in opposite directions .

There There Aquatint on paper | 83 x 88 cm $500

ADAM NORRIS

3

As a child, I was taught the history of the colonisation of Tasmania, through the symbolism of From Gumnuts to Buttons . Having just moved to Tasmania, I struggled to form a connection to the new landscape in which I lived and was left with a guilt that I couldn’t fully understand .

Having recently discovered that one of my ancestors served as a British soldier in Tasmania during the early 1800’s, I created Gumnuts and Buttons as a self-portrait . It is an attempt to not only better understand my English heritage, but the feelings of guilt that I have been struggling with since moving here . In learning about my ancestors and in sharing their stories I have been able to experience a connection that transcends both time and place .

Although at times I still struggle with the guilt that comes with living in a country that is not my own, as I have come to know who my ancestor’s are, I am better able to understand who I am and where I come from .

Gumnuts and Buttons Pen and acrylic on canvas | 122 x 92 cm $3,600

ALYCE BAILEY

4

My process of utilising mapping imagery to overlay a self-portrait speaks of a connection to land which is heightened through my participation in the sport of orienteering . Navigating unknown terrain with only lines and symbols to guide my decisions is a metaphor for life as a young person where, in my experience, a knowledge of the codes required to successfully function in mainstream society is imperative . Operating outside such normative and rigid confines can often lead to bullying or exclusion .

Within the landscape my choices are informed by marks on a map - colours, shapes, contours, lines, symbols - and my goals are achieved through responding to these features . I feel to be within the landscape guided by a plan is a safe place where meanings are clear and outcomes defined in contrast to the spaces I currently occupy as a young person in society where outward appearances and misinterpreted actions can alienate and misinform .

Navigating Digital photograph | 29.7 x 42.0 cm $200 unframed

ARABELLA PHILLIPS

5

Iris is my littlest sister . She is 5 and I am 21 years older than that .

I often find Iris in her room talking with the toys . Living her fantasy in a world of pure imagination . This is a portrait of her world, containing many stories forged together by us . There were some rules provided in the creation of this image, about which bit went with which bob, and making sure to include the puppy dog house, the giraffe family, and ponies . Iris made me promise not to glue anything, and everything was returned unharmed … disappearing back into the toy vortex to re-emerge with a new story .

Children are able to easily create poetic landscapes without definitions, filled with things that are both amazing and mundane, made of plastic or plants . By paying close attention to ourselves and our surroundings, a childlike sense of seeing things may arise in anyone .

Iris and Friends Archival print of digital comp | 59.4 x 84.1 cm Edition of 5, $500 unframed, $720 framed

ARIEL RUBY

6

In a country fraught with racism, climate change inaction, a widening socioeconomic gap and entitled politicians, it’s easy to forget that there are still good people in the world . Good people who don’t just ignore the issues but who actively strive to find a resolution .

Craig ‘Garbo’ Garland, of Montagu, is Tassie born and bred . A man raised on the sea as much as the land, Craig hails from family which have fished, farmed and mined around the north-west coast for generations .

A fisherman, small business owner, tour guide and father, Craig has a deep connection to the environment, for which he acknowledges his duty, to do what he can for this great patch of land we call Tasmania .

Running as an independent candidate in the recent Federal Election, Craig stood out from the pack not only for his preference of flannelette shirts and thongs, over bespoke suits and grooming products, but also because of his candid demeanour and genuine passion for putting his beliefs above all else . In his own words, “I stand, not as anyone special, but as an average Tasmanian who cares for the community, our rivers, our oceans and the land that we live with” .

Garbo Photo on canvas | 135 x 90 cm $900

BRODIE WEEDING

7

Aysha Buffet . Hobart’s preeminent Drag Queen .

Working on a long term project with this Queen has opened up a new world of fashion and make-up that I was unaware existed . There is a meditative routine to this preparation .

As the Queen slowly enters Drag the confident and sassy veil begins to appear .

A Night at the Buffet Metal print | 90 x 60 cm $400

CHAS HUGHES

8

This portrait of Jan Hogan had begun with one sitting and was completed with reference to photographs . Jan is sitting within the printmaking studio at the School of Creative Arts and Media, the Centre for the Arts in front of the printing presses . In painting this portrait there was an exploration, pushing my learning with colour in layers for skin tones, as well as in painting the sitter with, interest in their character and a cohesive approach, rather than a stronger focus on likeness .

Jan first struck me as lively and approachable . In my time under her guidance there is always something notable in her compellingly imaginative translations of our language in drawing, printmaking and art making . This portrait of Jan is soft and considerate, and I find that a unique characteristic is her ever-present half-smile . Within the crisp studios of the art school in the winter time, Jan has a radiant warmth . The printmaking studio is a hard and sturdy environment, where in all its processes emerges all kinds of delicate or abrasive prints from its pressings, transfers and transformations . Jan’s presence in this practice is one that is dedicated, purposeful, and with a thoughtful touch .

Portrait of Jan Hogan Oil on canvas | 51 x 51 cm Not for Sale

CORINNA HOWELL

9

To those who know her, my mother is the epitome of animation . She is constant movement . When she is happy, she is exuberant: hand-waving, mouth-stretching, foot-tapping motion . When she is sad, she is the same . But this is only one fragment, one facet .

My mother also struggles with depression . In depression, she is stillness - an absence of the motion that so defines her . Many people don’t know that she struggles, they can’t see her stillness, that absence that overtakes her . They don’t understand, can’t understand, this fragment that is a part of her, and yet not her at all . In stillness, my mother crumples, folds inwards – her skin droops and sags, wrinkles take root, severe and harsh . The remnants of motion transform until they are unrecognisable .

In stillness, my mother becomes aged, fragile even . And yet in that stillness, in that absence, there is strength . I wanted to capture this stillness, this weakness that is strength . To explore, dissect and expose this fragment that is both my mother and not . To do so, I chose to use acrylic as a medium, to emphasise the stoical undertones of my concept through detail work and subdued colour palette .

Stillness Acrylic on paper | 42 x 29.7 $850

ELLENA MUNDAY

10

Charlie Fulton is an incredible 11-year-old, with an immense passion for singing, performing, tap dancing, acting and musical theatre .

I first met Chaz after his performance in Lès Miserables . His kindness, humility, and humour really struck me for someone of his age . Charlie is passionate about raising funds and awareness for children’s cancer, bullying in schools, and building a positive creative atmosphere in our city .

In this painting I have tried to capture that passion as he swims through unknown depths towards an amazing future . His fearless spirit is an inspiration to me, and when I grow up I hope to be like Charlie .

“Charlie” Oil on canvas | 80 x 60 cm $700

EMMA BARRATT

11

In reflection of my 24 years, I have come to endearingly refer to myself as a mongrel, a hybrid of many opposing natures . Adventurous but anxious, competitive but soft, friendly but shy . I spent the first two decades of my life as a female . That version of myself remains a part of me, though I no longer see her when I look in the mirror, her appearance erased by hormones and surgery . She is my effeminacy, my discomfort around men, my affinity for brightly coloured clothes . She is my friendships with women, and my closeness with my mother .

As a child, I loathed all colours associated with girliness . The pink backdrop in the painting conveys my growing appreciation of the feminine side I once rejected, where I now find my compassion, strength, and kindness . Leaning forward in vulnerability, I hug my knees for comfort .

My relationship with the outside world remains tense, as a powerless entity in a population which debates my rights and questions my sanity . Conversely, my gaze suggests a calmness . I am finally at ease with the individual facets of my identity and I embrace their un-orthodoxies .

Mongrel Acrylic on canvas | 100 x 100 cm $350

GEORGE KENNEDY

12

In this work I explore the complexity of life and the domino effect of events in our pasts that lead us to be who we are .

My subject is Jacob; an interesting character who, over the last eight years has had one foot in the grave . Habitually pushing his health to the limit which has resulted in a number of near misses . He has been my best friend since I was thirteen and is now my partner, though until recently he was dangerously self-destructive, hence ‘The Barely Living Tasmanian’ .

Jacob is a gentle, sensitive soul when we are together . There are many interesting layers to his personality, though many people fail to see past his history . He is burdened with regrets and I continue to worry about him despite the progress he was made . The colours I have used portray him in the way that I see him . Kind, tender and hopeful . This painting is of a photograph I took of him on the day we moved in together that I feel shows him being his true self - comfortable, content and looking forward to the future .

The Barely Living Tasmanian Acrylic on canvas | 82 x 101 cm $650

HANNA BATSTONE

13

This is my Dad .

This is my Dad viewing my work as an artist .

Light and sound over a ten minute experience . What I created was a sensory experience that would separate awareness of where you are now, to somewhere else within the mind . The sensory stimulation is beamed directly to where it counts; ears, eyes and touch; where he lays . It was a shared moment of me watching him as the ten minutes passed, wondering where he was finding himself, what sort of journey he was having . I was desperate to know what he thought . With ten seconds to go, he speaks up, “how much more is there?” “Just a few more seconds”, I answer . This is a portrait of my Dad being my Dad . It must have been a long ten minutes but he still showed up .

My Dad Photography | 42 x 59.4 cm $200

HARRY HOLCOMBE-JAMES

14

I often question whether my representations of moments are fair . As I enjoy photographing the people around me, I use my ability as a tool to shape memory and create a sense of nostalgia through beautiful moments . However, it is the nature of film, that something unexpected can be gifted, once the images are developed . From a seemingly regular day during late winter in suburban Hobart, artefacts can be created .

Moon is a portrait defined by the eyes of the subject . Tabitha was holding the space in this moment and made definite in her state of understanding and softness . She and I have discussed …“Feels like the moon is gazing” . Perhaps a form of escapism by me . Moon can provide a place for someone passing by to be held and to explore their own thoughts .

Moon Digital print | 30.48 x 40.64 cm $250

JACOB COLLINGS

15

This is a portrait of my Poppy, Tim Ransom . I painted him sitting in his office, among his immense collection of books, because I wanted to show his love of research .

For years, Poppy has been exploring his family history . He has followed his family-tree to its furthest branches and loves to find stories from the past . At the age of thirty-seven Poppy discovered that he was adopted . And, in a way, he has also been adopted into my family, as he was my Nanna’s second husband and isn’t my blood-relation . Poppy has family and friends who love him greatly, regardless of how they came to know him, and this is thanks to him being such an admirable and kind person .

The composition and deep tones in this piece are intended to mimic traditional portraiture and give the piece an historic feel . However, I chose to paint Poppy smiling, unlike portraits of the past, because I wanted to reflect his quietly kind-hearted nature . Poppy is an incredible grandfather and I hope I have shown that in his portrait .

Poppy Acrylic on canvas | 75 x 100 cm Not for Sale

JASMIN ELLIS

16

Maxwell Arthur Miller joined the Tasmanian Police Service at 16 years of age as a cadet and served the Tasmanian community as a front-line police officer for nearly 42 years, retiring in 2018 . Max served most of his working life in one-man stations in rural Tasmania . These require the officer to be on-call even when off duty, and in real time, Max served more than 120 years of human working life in his career .

Max retired with PTSD, sustained from attending too many catastrophic incidents over his career, and in his years of service he lost the ability to sleep through the night . This picture was taken of Max the morning of the very first day that he had slept through an entire night, undisturbed by his years of being on call to serve his community . In retirement Max is learning to sleep through the night, an experience he is sharing with many new-borns and he is recovering with his love of all things sailing .

The blue surrounding Max is reflective of this love, but also the serenity he had in this moment .

Rest At Last Oil pastel and paint on paper | 76 x 56 cm Not for Sale

JESSICA HORTON

17

I have lived a life of certitude and ease; whose rhythms and indulgences were equally predictable and enjoyable . Yet, upon the approach of adulthood, I have inhabited an unstable terrain between childhood and adulthood . My sense of identity, belonging and home in absentia; interspersed within a darkness that permeates everything .

Suddenly, I’m all alone, sailing out into dark unknown waters as the sun-drenched lands of my childhood recede into the distance . What slips into the shadows is as much a part of the work as what we can see . Like a Caravaggio, my body is luminous emerging out of the dark space I have inhabited .

To me, this portrait illustrates the last vestiges of my innocence, and the ever-growing maturity and individuality before the arrival of adulthood . The possibility of photographing decay or disrepair of memory to revive the lost domain of childhood seemed both beguiling and yet so unlikely . Perhaps that is what adulthood means: a farewell to the familiar, and a welcoming of the unknown .

Within Without Photograph | 59 x 84 cm $1,000

JOEL PARKINSON

18

Whether it is a building, or in someone’s arms, home is where you can naturally be yourself, without giving it any more thought . It’s where you can feel and express self-love and love for others in its highest form . This piece is of my significant other and me in his childhood home in the bush which we live in together .

When I started painting it I envisioned us being embraced by this powerful creature of earth and light . It is tenderly holding us close to its heart . Protecting us . Nurturing us . During painting, it dawned on me that this creature has been me all along, expressing my love and care for what we have . A self-portrait of finally having found a sense of home . I feel unlimited appreciation for Tasmania and its unique wild beauty . I also feel very protective of this land and its creatures .

It is a truly rare thing that our world came to exist in this universe and I think as humans we have a responsibility to take care of it . My father who has been painting with me since I can remember introduced me to aquarelle .

A World For Myself Watercolor on paper | 21 x 29.7 cm Not for sale

JOELLE LANFRANCONI

19

Figures in red, strangers in an unknown world . Memory and identity are closely linked, yet memory deceives, is broken and reconstructed . This self-portrait explores the middle ground between experience and memory and the fugitive nature of remembering and its role in picturing the “self” . Layered imagery works to evoke memories of a childhood, with the possibility of a disturbance and incongruity written between the lines .

While being a reflection on memory and the reconstruction of identity, this is also a portrait of myself and my twin brother . Experiences of a childhood spent together fuse lyrically, where the almost seen acts as a burst of memory . The inquiry into this relationship becomes a layered paradox of the intentional and unintentional, based on a personal investigation into moments of perceived, yet unclear remembered experiences .

My approach to portraiture in this sense deliberately eludes the clear representation of self or identity, and focuses on what falls between, and the struggle to create identity in both a changing world, and in relation to another .

Self Portrait with Overturned Wheel Barrow Oil on canvas | 133.5 x 133.5 cm $1,950

JOSHUA ANDREE

20

Sunday the 21st of April 2019 will forever be a day when nothing was as it should have been .

I was home for Easter, over mid-semester break . It was the first time I had been home since I started university and we took the opportunity to go on a bush walk for the first time since October last year . I met Athol that day . Dad invited him and some other people to come along on our trip to Parsons Falls on Tasmania’s Central Plateau . But while we went to the falls together as part of the same group, I never spoke to him besides a friendly hello . I knew him for less than an hour before he risked his life to save my Mum when she fell 30 metres down the face of the waterfall .

I have only seen him once since then . For me, he remains in this bizarre grey area of being a stranger whom I know nothing about, but at the same time, I cannot imagine what my life would be like now if I’d never met him .

Athol Graphite on paper | 23.2 x 30.4 cm Not for Sale

KATELYN GEARD

21

Head Girl is a tribute to the strength of women .

I met Charlie, the subject of the portrait, before she became Head Girl . We were both twelve years old and jokingly considered ourselves ‘bush kids’, something I worried made me less ‘girly’ . I haven’t thought about that since, in fact I now consider a hike we did together through Tassie’s highlands to be one of my happiest memories . Having walked harder tracks, solo, Charlie inspired me to continue on the path we walked then, as well as on another, harder path – always working for what I value . Now, as an art student who is interested in the style of Prime Ministerial portraits, I find it staggering that only one Australian PM has been female .

Although the world is gradually becoming a more equal place, there is still work to be done . I painted Head Girl to share what I think a strong leader looks like . Charlie’s strength of character, having followed her own ambitions, is something that could only have evolved over time, shown metaphorically as I chose to include ‘offcuts’ from the painting process in the finished work, showing development . In a similar style to Prime Ministerial portraits, I chose to paint Charlie with all the finesse she deserves, having grown into a beautiful role model for those around her and, of course, a close friend .

Head Girl Oil on canvas | 100 x 100 cm $1,000

LAURA JOHNSON

22

The subjects of portraits entered into competitions are often famous, well known, perhaps role models to the artists . The name Mark Sargent, known to his friends as Mickey, bares no great significance . He is not an activist, an artist, a politician or a scientist . Mickey is a Hobart man that works at St Vincent Industries, cutting donated clothes into rags for companies, Monday to Friday, before clocking off his last shift to have a single beer with his work mates, over the road at the Republic Bar . Though he may not be a household name among Tasmanians, Mickey is a man I have loved to paint . His large pale eyes surrounded by skin, so deeply lined over the years, makes him a much more spectacular subject to me, and a much more significant person, than any smooth skinned celebrity .

Mickey Oil on canvas | 50 x 70 cm $500

MILLY CROMBIE

23

My sister Laura, bedecked in her usual uniform of flannelette, unbrushed hair, and snazzy socks . If you need to find her, she can usually be found typing madly in bed, cat very firmly in lap . Always writing one story after another, she keeps them in secret, only letting slip some little detail from time to time .

As soon as you think you’ve got an idea of what she’s up to, of how close she is to finally getting something done, you discover that she’s already chucked it and a new story has begun .

Laura Gouache on cotton paper | 65 x 96 cm $2,000

NICOLA GOWER WALLIS

24

Painting has a long-standing tradition when depicting a polite societal understanding of portrait figures . Not Contemporary Enough explores those classicist modes using balanced romantic ideals with a classic clouded background, a conventional florals and fauna motif, and oval canvas more commonly used with female sitters . These classic conventions are juxtaposed with an expression of angst and soon to be stormy clouds symbolizing a deep depression .

The raw sadness of this self-portrait is a reflection of my understanding that as an artist who greatly admires the classical genres of painting there is a tense reality of alienation in the modes of thinking and representation which dominate the conventions of classical portraiture .

The classicist paintings are usually refined and restrained, however, in this work, these conventions are in tension with the emotional rawness of the symbolized figure . The romanticized ideas of classicism in the painting are long dead and a feeling of failure and inadequacy is overwhelming as a young female painter reels from such a death .

Not Contemporary Enough Acrylic on canvas | 45 x 66 cm $700

REBECCA WHYTE

25

My body of work is based off the concept of identity .

Through my work I want to use different poses and background colours in order to bring attention to individual personalities and how they are perceived to society, and people around them .

In this portrait of my friend Tim, I have used the background colour pink to not only bring out the warmth within his skin tones, but it also draws out the calming and playful persona that he expresses .

Tim Acrylic on wood panel | 58 x 58 cm $540

RHIANNA GUMLEY

26

Peter Duncan Jones is a historian, life-long teacher and activist . He is a friend and fellow Quaker, and one who has made many conscious choices in his life to work for peace, and to promote it .

I wanted to draw him in order to understand what his wisdom means to me, as well as to illustrate how his simplicity and grace prevail against a turbulent world .

As an Asian Australian, I don’t know if I belong anywhere in particular . The sense of unbelonging used to bother me . Now I think of it as a reminder that we all live under the curse of colonialism .

History is in the middle of all our endeavours, driving rifts between people and cultures, even if we share humanity, and a longing for peace . This is manifested by the fires that torture Tasmania, and a changing climate which is the culmination of 200 years of progress and destruction . With the extinction of the thylacine, we could have guessed that this path would lead to the end of humans as well .

History in the middle Ink on paper | 100 x 110 cm $350

SAM NOLAN

27

This is my 94yo great-uncle Loyd and he is a WW2 vet who served in the Australian Air Force .

In this Russian Doll of portraits I wanted to portray his national pride and matter-of-fact-ness, but I think there is also memory, and aftermath . The background etching is drawn from a photo Uncle Loyd took in Japan during a burial of a pilot .

When viewing this work, maybe the audience will feel that discomfiting mix of pride in an elderly man who served our country, but shame for that fresh-faced 21yo who had to witness the atrocities of WW2 on our behalf: a 21yo who saw the aftermath of Hiroshima .

I chose to use acrylic glass because I wanted to explore how layers evoke a depth of place while the faded etching can invite the audience to think on how things look different in different lights .

I named this work Skies During Wartime . From the sky Uncle Loyd entered the war and from the sky came the bomb that created silhouettes of charcoal flesh, etched on building walls, ending the war and creating the divide between the two photos in his hands . Silhouettes that these eyes have seen first-hand .

Skies During Wartime Oil and etching on perspex | 90 x 101 cm Not for Sale

SHANTELLE PERRY

28

Your Mother’s Eyes, Your Father’s Nose is a self-portrait examining the relationship between personal understanding and public perception of identity .

For someone of mixed heritage, the dissection of appearance which usually happens beside a baby’s crib, continues well beyond infancy .

Often the admission of being ethnically diverse is seen as an open invitation to reduce the person to a subject, who is no more than a sum of parts which carry echoes of racial stereotypes .

Identity and individuality become sacrificed by third parties, in discussions that revolve around trying to determine where that person fits into a restricted world view . People become authorities on who or what, you do, or do not look like .

Diasporic understandings of identity are often fragmented and always complex – something which is further emphasised in this piece by the use of collage and mixed media techniques .

Your Mother’s Eyes, Your Father’s Nose Acrylic and collage on linen | 40 x 51 cm Not for Sale

SHARIFAH EMALIA AL-GADRIE

29

730 Days (For The People) Water colour and ink | 50 x 60 cm $800

On September 21st of 2017, Astro Labe head-butted Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott because, in Astro’s own words, “He deserved it” . I’ve known Astro for the last 13 years . Our first encounter was at Aroma Records in North Hobart, one of my favourite places to go for a coffee break at college . Not only did he make a well-rounded strong long black, his constant approval of my record choices and his close follow up of musical recommendations were always met with pride and passion .

In 2007, I was living out of home . After finishing work each day, I began treating myself to coffee and toast at Criterion Street Cafe, seating myself right in front of the coffee machine and chatting to the barista . One Thursday morning I found myself talking to Astro behind the coffee machine and our friendship took off from there .

Astro is like a stray wild dog, unpredictable but lovable, with smarts and cunning that are lost in his own dysfunctional manner . Self-righteous and strong willed – but always for others, never for the sake of himself . That is the kind of man who would serve 730 days for the people .

SIDNEY DAVIES

30

My name is Tara . I’m 16 years old, and I still have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) .

I created this painting to raise awareness of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder . It is often not spoken about enough, and many people don’t understand it, so I hope that by viewing this piece you are able to understand it better . This portrait depicts myself staring at a switch – checking if it is off . This is one of my daily OCD rituals . I painted the switch larger than life to portray how big of an issue it has become in my daily routine . My alarm clock featured in the artwork represents how much time I have spent and lost due to OCD . My childhood toy bunny strewn to the side of the room, illustrates how OCD distracted me from just being a kid . I created this self-portrait on canvas with acrylic paint .

OCD definition: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health disorder which can affect anyone, at any age . OCD occurs when a person gets caught into a cycle of obsessions and compulsions . The Obsessions are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger distressing feelings . The Compulsions are behaviours an individual engages in, to attempt to get rid of the Obsessions and/or decrease his or her distress .

16 Year Old Me & OCD Acrylic on canvas | 101.6 x 101.6 cm $2,500

TARA BURSIC

31

This portrait of you another iteration of beauty .

You, just you utterly, wholly

as you are Erin our star .

Erin Our Star Oil on aluminium | 61 x 77 cm Not for Sale

TILLEY WOOD

32

I shot this photo in colour, I had originally intended it to be seen that way . The glowing winter light painted my skin, it was dramatic . The portrait I have chosen to show here is quiet; I think there is more to see here . I have tried many times and will continue to try and capture the ‘self ’ in the self-portrait, although I find it ungraspable . This photograph has been staged . I am standing on the hill behind my childhood home . I used to walk the dog up here, before the farmer started putting signs up, and subdividing the land to build more homes .

Self-Portrait at 22, July 4th 2019 Archival inkjet print | 60 x 80 cm $1,800

TIM COAD

33

Photocopy transfers, automatic writing, greasy ink smearing, destructive erasure, purposefully removing aspects . My face is distorted, reworked, layered and written over as an automatic response to the subconscious . Temporal moments and emotions get caught into layered lithographic states . Counter etches and hard, wet washouts break and wear down the surface of the stone, corrupting the properties it had to hold intricate detail and soft tones .

The unintelligible words that cannot be read are reflections, meditations of what is happening to this world surrounding me . Tones of yellow mingle with shades of red, muddling browns; as if reflection of the forge on a blacksmith’s wall, the fire of the furnace and like Galadriel’s mirror, a vision of the future state of our earth .

Thinking of Mike Parr’s abrasive etchings, Robert Rauschenberg’s layered photo-lithographs, Hatari, Iceland’s anti-capitalist bondage techno Eurovision entrant . Expressing frustrations with careless politicians, the wanton destruction of our environment that sustains us and a feeling isolation in this overcrowded space we all inhabit alone .

The scream of the scratch across the stone, rushed writing backward . I was there but now I’m gone . Words merge together to create forms, covering me . I come up for air but my legibility then sinks beneath the wave of words, drowning . A Dead end .

The Scream of the Scratch Layered multi-state lithographic print | 56.5cm x 77.5 cm $770

WESLEY MILES

34

My Mum and Dad live on the far northwest coast of Tasmania, in a place called Marrawah . It’s a small town, isolated on the edge of the island, so they spend a lot of time on their own . They live in a house beside the sea that my dad built 30 years ago . It’s made of earth and timber and bits of old sheds .

The winters are long so they head north for months at a time . The summers are sweet and they spend evenings out the front, watching the waves wash into the bay and the light shift on the distant mountain .

They eat from the veggie garden . My dad catches Australian Salmon off the rocks . Mum reads books about faraway places . They look after their accommodation so people can visit . They live simply . And thanks to them, I can simply live .

Mum and Dad and Home Oil on board | 45.5 x 46 cm $1,100

ZOE GREY

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