KILGOUR PRIZE 2021

Lisa ADAMS
born 1969 Adelaide SA
Exposure 2021
oil on canvas
60.0 x 85.0cm
Artist collection

In Exposure, a hunter in the tactical camouflage clothing of a Ghillie suit walks through a landscape, approaching the perceived cover of a forest in order to hide. Due to an unexpected shift in weather conditions the landscape has become completely blanketed in snow rendering it impossible for him to be disguised. My paintings take months to complete. Through hyper realistic technique and forensic attention to detail I hope to draw the viewer close, engaging them in a world that looks naturalistic but is one of disorienting reversals, disempowering rational logic. During the painting of this image the daily news was flooded with stories of predatory behaviour in our national parliament and elsewhere, often enabled by others and deceptively covered up, devastating victims’ lives. This painting is about my hope that in the fullness of time truth will eventually come to light and evil can be flushed out of hiding and left totally exposed.

Gillian ADAMSON
born 1992 Maitland NSW
Jesus in the Wilderness 2021
acrylic and gouache on board
15.0 x 15.0cm
Artist collection

In the gospels the wilderness is a place where evil lurks, where Christ is tempted. A place devoid of spirituality. Where as today many of us see the wilderness as a spiritual place, a place we come back from restored. A place to escape evil. A place that is pure. In my work I am exploring what a suitable metaphor would be now for a place of temptation, devoid of spirituality. I am also interested in the rise of the religious right. I am in no way trying to define all Christians and of course the diversity of beliefs and understanding are as great there as in any section of society but there is a very vocal group of people who can manage to marry the teachings of Jesus to a neo-liberal understanding of the world. In my, admittedly limited, understanding this would appear to require some considerable intellectual gymnastics.

Matteo BERNASCONI
born 1981 Brescia, Italy
Blessed 2021
oil on linen 
125.0 x 95.0 cm
Artist collection

Benedicta is a dear friend and a well-known life model. She is one of the first full-time life models in Australia and the subject of thousands of artworks.
But being a life model is only one part of Benedicta’s life. She’s also an artist herself – a writer, poet, and fashion designer with her own label. She’s inspired many young artists of various disciplines over the years, and is passionate about modeling, understanding intimately the importance of various lines, shapes, and shadows that the body can make when posing. Painting Benedicta has been a long-time dream of mine because of her gracious humble nature and fascinating stories.  As she’s most known for her nude modeling, I thought it would be interesting to paint her with clothes on in her own environment, surrounded by her eclectic furniture and belongings that help shape the person she is. 
Her understanding of fashion and beautiful body lines is evident in this portrait. She sat in her chair so elegantly and strong knowing instinctively how to position herself, creating a portrait that shows the many sides to Benedicta.

Jackson BOOTH
born 1987 Melbourne VIC
Self Portrait 2021
oil on wooden panel
69.0 x 60.0cm
Artist collection

I was nervous to paint this self portrait, having never painted one before. I guess there is a feeling that it is quite self indulgent, I thought the only way to get over that feeling was to just get in the studio and paint. As an artist I quite often have that inner battle between keeping my brushwork loose or refined. I believe this portrait is a perfect example.

Catherine BOREHAM
born 1978 Brisbane QLD
Michael 2020
oil on canvas
107.0 x 77.0cm
Artist collection

Michael Veitch who is a well know actor, author and broadcaster is in his late 50's.  As a fan of comedy I remember him for his comedy sketches on Fast Forward and Full Frontal and also from hosing the ABC arts show. Michael sits down on a bench seat and straight away leans forward one hand in his other appearing to be relaxed yet ready to work. His hands seemed to have lived a busy and hard working life. This position also seems to reveal his self assurance and confidence. Since getting to know him I have already figured out that Michael values listening to others well and it's as if he is now waiting to hear a good story. The sturdy gold watch around his left wrist tells a story of its own too, having been passed down from the previous generation and he definitely treasures it. His expression exudes a confident intelligence. Michael is wearing a black shirt and grey pants. He eyes are dark and intense and his hair is quite grey and mostly combed back. He had lot of cool skin tones naturally and the colours of his clothes quite grey and unassuming,  therefore I used the background and the golden lights to bring out his calm personality and warmth of character. The hints of green in the background indicate a sense of nature and harmony. Michael is complex and sophisticated and yet also very grounded and down to earth. Michael Veitch has contributed so much to the Australian arts scene and continues to do so. It was a pleasure to work on this portrait.

Julie-Ann BROWN
born 1972 Kununoppin WA
Julia 2020
oil on canvas
102.0 x 76.0cm
Artist collection

Julia is all about love. Love has fuelled her journey.
An extraordinary bond with her mother powered the confidence to follow her mantra; ‘Women who aspire make their dreams happen’. A long-term fan of Home & Away gave way to her own aspirations for the theatre. After attending WAAPA, Julia was preparing to take her leading role in ‘You know we belong together’ to The Edinburgh Festival, spreading the word about love, relationships, acceptance and belonging onto the international stage. A passionate and inspirational advocate for the Down Syndrome community, Julia gives talks to parents expecting down syndrome babies, interacts with down syndrome playgroups and is a mentor at DAADA. With her Mum now passed Julia continues to flourish. Love conquers all. As so much of Julia is about theatre it appeared obvious to me to portray her in the Theatre. Making use of the many lighting options helped create a more dramatic effect with the contrast giving great depth and dimension. A simple yet powerful and uncluttered focus on Julia’s face while the seated pose reflects the welcoming and warm person that she is. My aim was to ‘pop’ her image from the canvas so it was important to keep the painting simple. She wears her favourite shirt for the sitting.

Simon BROWN
born 1992 Cape Town, South Africa
Abdul 2020
oil on linen
122.0 x 91.5cm
Artist collection

This piece reflects upon perspective, a composition made up mostly of dark colours, although a minority of light in the center of the work demands your attention. The streak of light cast across the sitters face, Abdul Abdullah, brings forward a form out of the dark – an expression of determination to be heard, ones perspective to be acknowledged and understood. In order to achieve complete perspective, all aspects need to be considered. The dark tones surrounding the form presented by the light, give the subject a base for which to understand entirely. Without the dark, the light could risk being ineffective, without something for which to contrast and could be deemed meaningless. This principle I believe is greatly lacking in todays society, too often we judge or condemn based on little perspective. Full insight can only be achieved if all things are considered, all perspectives are acknowledged. Abdul himself, I feel, has fallen victim to this – works criticized and branded offensive by those unwilling to understand the real message, based on pre-conceived ideology of racial background, religious beliefs or misunderstood imagery.

Daniel BUTTERWORTH
born 1973 Kyneton VIC
Arrangement of colour number 5 2021
acrylic on cardboard
190.0 x 110.0cm
Artist collection

My daughter Matisse and our dog Bonnie. The title “arrangement of colour number 5” is what it suggests; it is the fifth piece of a series looking at the figure and portraits with emphasis on colour with focus on warms and cools

Emily Jayne CARROLL
born 1988 Mackay QLD
Fredrick 2021
oil on canvas
91.0 x 75.5cm
Artist collection

2019 was the beginning of dark and suffocating time in my life. In the two years that follow began the unravelling of everything I knew as home, and in the unravelling came the fall into what I can only describe as a remarkable resemblance to Alice’s fall into wonderland. An upside down of confusion and conflict both internal and external against the world around me. A distain and unsatisfactory tug irked at my soul and wouldn’t cease until I gave in and began my quest to find the authentic me. The true self. A self with a childlike lust for life and an eagerness again to recreate the zing and marvel of life. That zing was with me when I was little and used to paint, a passion I gave up on 10 years ago to get a steady income. In creating Fredrick he was me and I in him. His anxious stare reflected back into mine and in every brush stroke became the anchor in which the chaos of my life quietened down. After 2 years painting him and with each section I completed I was feeling more like me again. And in finishing Fredrick, I found myself.

John DAHLSEN
born 1958 Sydney NSW
Self Portrait with Unintentionally Ingested Micro Plastics 2020
ink, charcoal, found micro-plastics and plant based resin on Belgian linen
183.0 x 198.0cm 
Artist collection

This self-portrait is a reflection on the unintentional ingestion that humankind is currently experiencing with micro-plastics. We ingest the equivalent of a teaspoon of micro plastics each week according to a report broadcast by the the ABC, dated 12th June 2019. It cites a new study commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature which was carried out by the micro plastics research team at the University of Newcastle in Australia. This unintended consumption is the equivalent of eating the same amount as in a credit card every week. The report was created by a collation of fifty international research papers which attempted to deliver an accurate calculation of ingestion rates. It went on to say that: “It found that based on “conservative assumptions” that people are consuming about 2,000 tiny pieces of plastic each week. The study focused on micro plastic less than 1mm in size, which are the most commonly ingested contaminants”.

Archer DAVIES
born 1989 Maleny QLD
Tulle blue 2020
gouache on Fabriano paper
76.0 x 56.0cm
Artist collection
 

Ashley is a colleague and friend of mine. Everyday she arrives at work in an unique attire. Each outfit is more adventurous than the last - sometimes playful and girlish, other times elegant and adult. I became interested in how her dress sense was more like costume than fashion - a reflection of the great themes of costume throughout art history. 'Tulle blue' became a study of opposites - diaphanous tulle and solid oversized ‘mary jane’ shoes plonked on the concrete, exaggerated girlishness and adult awareness, breezy blues and jet blacks. In the background a soft pink flower sits beside a bitter black coffee. During the painting process Ashley reflected on experiences from her early 20’s and suggested that everyday life seemed to lack the moments of enchantment that she had dreamt of in younger years. I told her that this seemed strange given that the characters she performs with each new outfit seemed like an exultant rebuke to the banality of modern life. ‘Yes’, she answered, ‘but it can’t just be me’.

Rachelle DUSTING
born 1991 Gosnells WA
Petrichor 2020
oil on canvas
77.0 x 77.0cm
Artist collection

“Petrichor” noun: a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather. The title of this piece was inspired by a composition by Ludovico Einaudi. The idea of rain falling emits a sort of healing— the washing away of a day, of our pain, of the weight that we carry. The tonal range is shorter and darker to emphasise a mellow and sombre mood. Petrichor alludes to what is yet to be. It lends itself to the reality that rain is coming— felt through the cooler tones that emerge from the background— and the relief it brings when it does.

John EARLE
born 1955 Newcastle NSW
The Swimmer 2021
oil on canvas
112.0 x 163.0cm
Artist collection

Although the view is from above, when hung on a wall the painting suggests a glass tank or aquarium.
A swimmer in a swimming pool cutting through the water and the visual effect of sunlight on the scene. There are sparkles on the waters’ surface and ripples of light move on the concrete below, the lane lines showing the effect of the moving water…each modified and shaped by the swimmer’s actions, the swimmer’s motion makes a whitish spray. 
Determination and motivation find a machine-like pace, creating waves and wavelets, generally disturbing the calm, but starting up the drumbeat rhythm of the day. Without the swimmer the water is calm, motionless…maybe just the effect of wind on the surface or a struggling insect sending out concentric ripples.

David FAIRBAIRN
born 1949 Zambia
Double Lives_D.F. & S.A. No 2 (Self Portrait with Artist Suzanne Archer) 2021
acrylic gouache on paper on birch wood
172.0 x 158.0cm
Artist collection

With the advent of Covid 19 I was unable to work with my regular sitters. Therefore my partner the artist Suzanne Archer offered to sit for me in regular two hour sessions. Initially I worked on individual portraits of her which then led to a new series of double portraits in which I included myself. It was an interesting challenge in that I had to construct the drawings & paintings of myself at a separate time mostly with the use of a mirror and photo documentation to locate the relationship between us. The resulting series Double Lives reflects a long and sustained personal and artistic relationship extending back more than three decades.
 

Nick FINTAN
born 1981 Sydney NSW
James Drinkwater 2020
acrylic on linen
121.0 x 71.0cm
Artist collection

James Drinkwater is a Newcastle artist. I met James at the National Art School in Sydney. After moving to Newcastle a few years ago, I visited James in his studio. He was kind enough to sit for me between working on some large canvases and a small sculpture.

Christine FONTANA
born 1969 Melbourne VIC
i wrote a story and realised it was never not too late for the bear 2021
acrylic on five panels of 640gsm paper
161.0 x 214.0cm
Artist collection

The story of the polar bear this portrait refers to is a visual work-in-progress on my studio wall. It came to me in the wee small hours, at a time when like many artists I was wrestling with issues of racism in Australia. The new knowledge I was acquiring was confronting, taking me from capitalism to racial disadvantage to racial privilege and back to capitalism. Then I diverged, into histories that are too big for my brain, and will take years to process. The polar bear comes out of those histories. The story-in-progress on my wall is a funny story; if you’re my audience it’ll make you laugh. Your own laughter will then disturb you, because the humour is dark. It will occur to you too late that laughter is inappropriate, and you’ll be caught exactly where you need to be, in that place of knowing something you don’t really want to identify. You won’t be able to help yourself. When you walk away from the work you’ll carry the polar bear with you, and a new level of self-knowledge, and I’ll have done my job. Good, because I can’t carry that polar bear alone; I’m just an artist, and a woman, and white, and so far from the habitat of a polar bear. But in an age of politically endorsed devaluation of nuanced thought and the humanities, I am necessary. Hence, this self-portrait. With a bear.

Miriam FRASER
born 1982 Penrith NSW
Eleven 2020
acrylic on canvas
103.0 x 76.0cm
Artist collection

Watching my son enter the beautiful and precarious age between childhood and adulthood has inspired me to capture and honour this sacred moment.
His eyes feel deeper as he becomes increasingly aware of the adult world and I hope he is guided to continue seeing the beauty and wonder of life even as it becomes more complicated. His body, while still so small, is capable of holding big ideas and even bigger emotions, exposing a complex fragility which is beautiful. Cherishing this moment of boyhood and knowing he will soon leave it behind fills me with both excitement and trepidation, as I wonder what challenges he will face and the adventures that await.

Michael LINDEMAN
born 1973 Sydney NSW
I... 2020
watercolour & acrylic on canvas
204.0 x 142.0cm
Artist collection

With bashful humour my self-portrait titled ‘I…’ sets out to activate repressed impulses, embody alienation, disrupt convention and invert structures of power.  In the spirit of opposition my masked portrait is a type of anti-selfie, swerving around the bottleneck of narcissism and attention seeking. ‘I…’ is my manifesto and therapy at once, both image and text confronting my position as an artist and mortality.  Stream of consciousness self analysis meets jarring institutional critique, I have found my zone of contemplation.  My portrait uses a self-reflexive humour as a strategic tool with which to analyse cultural production and entertain myself.  The brand of humour I use, an externalising of my doubts and fears, satisfies a misguided urge to be vulnerable and sincere.  ‘I…’  is an insight into my psyche, relying on a parallel, removed mode of presenting one’s bodily self.

Nunzio MIANO
born 1975 Melbourne VIC
Lockdown Lover Man 2021
acrylic on canvas
32.0 x 32.0cm
Artist collection

The pandemic has effected us all in different ways, both physically and mentally. The constant news and ever-changing situation has challenged our daily lives and forced us all to reassess and reset. Lockdown Lover Man is a commentary on life during lockdown in Melbourne. This piece conveys the emotions we were all feeling, in an expressive yet abstract self portrait. Using bold colour choices and a strong brush stroke to convey the delicate emotional state and the heightened yearning for a humanity living in health and harmony.

Robert O'CONNOR
born 1984 Melbourne VIC
Hello, Mr Denholm! 2020
oil on canvas
100.0 x 185.0cm
Artist collection

Michael Denholm, author, critic, agitator, and co-founder of the Island Magazine; cursed to walk the earth forever. He is always carrying this pile of knowledge on his back, always searching for truth or beauty or something to eat. Part taxonomist, part romantic, part antiquarian - wholly Sisyphean. Here he is walking on the Queen's Domain with Hobart/nipaluna down in the background.

Nathan PADDISON
born 1983 Villawood NSW
Flour Sail 2021
acrylic, acrylic marker on canvas
204.0 x 142.0cm
Artist collection

Self portrait of harder times,the flowers representing anything I could find to make a quick buck even a droopy flower. Everyone has hard times in life and is always searching for who they are and where they belong in the world. Spelling the words wrong is a way to make the viewer take a second look and to understand better rather than just to read words. Figuring out meanings brings a new understanding that would otherwise be left to be forgotten.

Lori PENSINI
born 1970 Narrogin WA
Family 2021
oil on china
78.0 x 85.0cm
Artist collection

These portraits are a continuum for myself and my art practice exploring  the Indigenous lineage to my ancestry. They are painted on family heirloom fine bone china English plates and are a tribute to the inter racial relationships of my colonial fore-bearers and the first people’s of the south west of Western Australia. Each plate is unique to itself, honouring individual endeavours and fortitude. Collectively they embody the sense of ‘family’, of intimate bonds forged and the endurance of fervent relationships that defied racial vilification of the times. The deliberation of painting on fine bone china English plates represents the fragility of our bonds and cultural identity and delicately betrays the ruinous heavy hand of European colonisation both towards indigenous peoples and the Australian landscape.

Alice PULVERS
born 1984 Tokyo Japan
Portrait of Lucy, "The Day's Work" 2020
oil on linen
85.0 x 65.0cm
Artist collection

This is an oil portrait of my sister and fellow artist, Lucy Pulvers. I have a strong interest in figure painting and have painted many portraits including self-portraits and commissioned portraits. Lucy and I share an interest in figure painting and I have often painted Lucy, sometimes as herself and sometimes not strictly as a portrait, but as a figure in a dramatic scene or an emotional context or with a hint towards a narrative. Lucy and I have another sister, Sophie Pulvers, who is also an artist. We and our brother are close in age were all born and grew up in Japan, sharing a strong personal and artistic bond.

James R RANDALL
born 1961 Spokane, Washington USA
Red Jumpsuit yellow car blue sky 2021
gouache
26.0 x 26.0cm
Artist collection

Revisiting a time of heightened sensations when possibilities were many and energy was vast! This snippet from a day trip out west collides with my current state but melds time. Do I want to return? No only reflect on so much life between and forget the current state of life’s play.

Grace Kemarre ROBINYA
born 1942 Ntaria (Hermannsburg) NT
Laramba, Different Times 2020
acrylic on linen
90.5 x 46.0cm
Artist collection

Middle section – Laramba Olden Times. Women sitting down in the humpies with the kids. And three men, stockmen with horses. Laramba, olden time humpies. Men been out mustering. Dogs up on the hills looking out all the stars. Night time… all the star in the sky. Lower section – Present day. All going on picnic, driving in the cars. Men women, all the kids. Also, Laramba Community today. All the kids playing. Dogs playing. Men come home from work. ‘Daddy, daddy coming back from work’. Kids running to fathers. Happy to see them. To be together.

Paul RYAN
born 1964 Auckland NZ
Three imaginary boys 2021
oil on linen
183.0 x 183.0cm
Artist collection

Three imaginary boys. For the last fifteen years my work has explored notions of post colonial Australia. This particular work is based on memories of being young unemployed and daily stoned. Imaginary because my memories of this time are dream like. I’m no longer sure what is actual memory and what is constructed. Nevertheless here I am with my friends. Striding the land like we own it. But totally unaware of the history of the place and those that came before. Comfortably Dumb.

Jason TOLMIE
born 1981 Wagga Wagga NSW
In Her Mother's T-Shirt 2021
oil on canvas
60.0 x 45.0cm
Artist collection

This is my niece. She and I have always been close. I was visiting my sister in Sydney over the summer and at one point she (my niece) entered the room wearing her mother's t-shirt. I felt a sudden crushing realisation that she was growing up. That her childhood was in its closing chapter. That this girl was very quickly becoming a woman. Becoming her mother. Becoming my sister. I wanted to capture that moment of transition. Her gentle, childlike beauty as well as her warmth, maturity and strength as she moves into adolescence.

Mick TURNER
born 1960 Melbourne VIC
Peggy in her studio 2020
oil on linen 
153.0 x122.0cm
Artist collection

Peggy Frew is an award winning novelist and musician, her novels have been shortlisted for the Miles Franklin and Stella prizes and she plays bass with Melbourne band 'Art of Fighting'. We met one night 18 years ago through mutual friends in the Melbourne music scene and have been together since. Her writing career took off shortly after the birth of our 3rd child when she won The Age Short Story Competition. Highly intelligent and a deep thinker, she has always impressed me with her insight into people ,society and relationships. This painting shows her in her writing studio, a converted old brick outhouse in the backyard of our 1886 house in Brunswick.

Mark TWEEDIE
born 1982 Perth WA
For now that I am old 2021
oil on canvas
41.0 x 31.0cm
Courtesy of Jan Murphy Gallery 

I’ve painted my father intermittently for the past 20 years. Little has changed. My fear of losing him remains palpable and at the forefront of my arts practice. Growing up in a single parent household has led to this attachment, and simultaneously fuelled the fear. 'For now that I am old' depicts my father standing in my hometown of Carnvarvon, a small coastal town located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. I haven’t lived there for 26 years but my sense of it being home remains as strong as ever.