Three Tasmanians artists are among 40 Main Awards Finalists for WA’s premier portrait prize – The Lester Prize. Their works will be on public display at Art Gallery WA (AGWA) in the historic Centenary Galleries from 31 October – 29 November 2020 with the winners announced on 30 October 2020.
The finalists were chosen from a record-breaking 750 entries received from artists across Australia, nearly double the entry numbers of previous years (34% of entries came from WA, 24% from NSW, 23% from VIC and the remaining 19% from QLD, SA, ACT, TAS and the NT).
“This large number of entries is very satisfying and demonstrates The Lester Prize’s strong standing amongst artists across the country,” said John Langoulant, The Lester Inc Board Chair.
All states and territories throughout Australia are represented this year with twelve finalists from WA, eight from NSW, seven from VIC, five from SA, three each from QLD and TAS, and one each from the ACT and NT. Sixteen of the finalists have been named as finalists in previous years of the competition.
This year’s Main Awards Panel comprising Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Rachel Ciesla, Alan R Dodge AM, Gemma Weston and Laetitia Wilson said: “We were impressed with the standard of works this year. Artists were keen to explore the intricate and multi-layered connections between home, identity and everyday life in the contemporary world. Life stories and solitude provided a particularly rich source of inspiration, and it was interesting to see how COVID-19 has put a new twist on autobiographical narratives and the sharing of many deeply personal memories and everyday experiences.”
This year, The Lester Prize allowed artists to submit an unlimited number of portraits (instead of a maximum of two) and, due to physical distancing restrictions, works could be created from a photograph instead of from ‘life’—as long as the photograph had been approved by the subject.
Artists from across Australia were invited to submit portraits of an Australian, or Australians, that they respect or admire, or a self-portrait.
To view the finalists online from 19 August 2020: https://www.lesterprize.com/index.php/gallery/the-lester-prize-for-portraiture/
The Tasmanian Finalists
Thomas Chandler – self portrait with Egon Schiele print, oil on canvas. West Launceston based artist, Thomas Chandler, born in 1988, works with acrylic and oil paint, centering on themes of humanity and the human experience. Holding a Bachelor in Architecture from the University of Tasmania, Thomas draws inspiration from the built world, and the people, objects and natural world that inhabit it.
“Time passes in the studio unalike that of the outside world.
Many hours are spent on the sofa examining incomplete works, taking a break from painting, and reading.
The hours always float by swiftly, the dark closes in unexpectedly year-round.
The studio is an oasis, a place which i could never spend enough time, hence probably why it disappears so quickly. The portrait has been painted with oils, using blending and dry brush techniques, among others. There are spaces in the work in which i have allowed myself to work more loosely; in the rug, foliage and the paint stains on the clothes, permitting a retreat within the work. The essence of this work is contemplation.”
Thomas Chandler – Self-portrait with Egon Schiele print 2020. Oil on canvas, 120 x 91 cm.
Sebastian Galloway – Warm air, cool light, Pirrin Francis oil on aluminium. Galloway is from Fern Tree.
“I started this portrait in February. It had a purpose then, but like everyone I had no clue how life’s plans would soon change.
This painting was the basis for teaching a painting workshop where people would (now unimaginably) gather less than 1.5m apart. Pirrin, the subject of this portrait had just returned from visiting family interstate, something she now longs for but cannot easily do.
I finished this portrait in July and interestingly for me it now represents a period in time and people’s collective experiences. It’s difficult to extract personalised narratives when so many share a similar one, and I suspect the narrative of loss and change will resonate with many people and artworks made during this time.”
Sebastian Galloway – Warm air, cool light 2020. Oil on Aluminium, 60 x 40 cm.
Nicole O’Loughlin – Woman in progress, self-portrait hand embroidery on vintage linen. O’Loughlin is from New Town.
“This is a self-portrait in which I am wearing my Nan’s nightdress. It is one of the only things I have of my Nan’s. She had schizophrenia and epilepsy and when she was not much older than me, in her late 40s, she was placed in a nursing home to live out her days. This work began as a reflection on trauma and the unspoken ritual of healing through needlework. I gathered found embroideries by unknown makers and appliqued them onto the portrait as well, in a recognition of the universal voice of women that comes through making. By the end, I was surrounded in a warm embrace by all the unknown creators as well as my Nan.
As a self-portrait, the work reflects on my own experiences. It is about my journey as an artist to embrace textiles and the introspection that comes through continual repetition in stitching. In it, I am wearing my grandmother’s nightgown, surrounded by a garden of discarded embroideries. Clothes and textiles hold our DNA, they provide comfort and closeness to another that gathers the stains and marks of lives lived. The work silently pays homage to the women in my family, and an underlying wish to fold back through time and heal the trauma that ripples through.”
Nicole O’Loughlin – Woman in progress 2020. Hand embroidery on vintage linen, 90 x 90 cm.
