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2011 Winner Robert O’Connor, Mount Nelson
Nothing is known of this sitter. The unidentified sitter is a much under-attended-to figure in art. He or she turns up in almost every one of those ‘great artist in history’ monographs, tucked in with their other ‘minor’ works. There’s something about them – they’re often shady looking. They aren’t particularly important people, otherwise we’d know their names, but they have mystery, intimacy, honesty – all good things and in a way pointless. I really like that. |
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2011 Runner-up Eva Schultz, South Hobart
This painting is my attempt at capturing the complexities of relationships, specifically the crucial moment of realisation when a future pathway changes. The moments when the reality that has been the governing force behind our decisions and aspirations is thrown into disarray, when the new future is in flux, and is heartbreaking and terrifying. This image is a portrayal of the prospect of an unknown path, difficult choices and tragic resolve. |
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2011 Sponsors Choice Eva Schultz, South Hobart (See 2011 Runner-up above) |
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2011 People's Choice Effie Pryer, Montrose
I wanted this painting to reflect more than just one person’s experience of growing up. The subject of this portrait has just pointed out that although he’s in it, it’s mostly about me (he doesn’t mind). He’s right. Michael has just started his first full-time job and it reflects awkwardly on my own unemployed, directionless, student lifestyle. I unintentionally incorporated plenty of admiration, a bit of jealousy and a lot of anxiety into an image of Michael’s balancing act between youth and adulthood. Not that he handles a working lifestyle as nonchalantly as he likes to make out. His first pay slip was proudly tacked to the fridge door. He later admitted that there wasn’t anything he wanted to spend his money on; eventually, he bought a slot car track. Here he hangs from a bar, reminiscent of the monkey bars I was an ace at climbing, in his underpants and work socks. Michael allegorically (and literally) balances between maturity and childish glee, composure and abandon, life and work. From my perspective, he also wavers between the adult world of superannuation and mortgages, and that of monkey bars and slot cars that I’d often rather stay in. Belle, Michael’s beagle, represents the frivolity of childhood that I fear to lose. I remember getting into the car on a cold school morning and glancing back at my pet cat sitting smugly in the window, wishing I was a cat so I didn’t have to go to school. Yet the cat was there waiting when I got home. Belle replaces my first idea, an office chair, which was sterile and depressing. I find her cheery presence comforting instead. The result is an optimistic image that I hope conveys the idea that facing the adult world isn’t so bad with someone (however furry) to welcome you home again. |
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