ARCHIBALD 2010
YES it’s that time of year again. The Packing Room Prize has been awarded to Nafisa for her portrait of Glenn A Baker. Titled “Glenn in black and white.” The prestige nod from the gallery staff is worth $500 cash and a $500 ANZ Visa debit card.
The rock brain is depicted in a somewhat photographic fashion and is about as exciting and inspiring as the rest of the field. While it’s traditional to moan that the Archibald choices are dull and predictable, this year it really does seem that way.
Nevertheless, the packing room plumped for Nafisa who was born in Mumbai. She has exhibited work in more than 100 group shows and won 50+ awards and commendations including the First Prize (Gold Medal) at the 2007 Florence Biennale. She has been a finalist in the Dobell Prize for Drawing, the Blake Prize for Religious Art and in numerous portrait prizes including the Portia Geach Memorial Award. She won the 2008 Black Swan Prize for Portraiture.
But what else is there?
Among the rest of the field, Kate Ceberano is another showbiz face, Warwick Thornton is there too, and Tim Minchin.
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Possibly the oddest picture is of STC co-boss Andrew Upton. Painted by Alexander McKenzie it depicts the impish Andrew in a small dinghy in which he’s either rowed onto the rocks or has run aground and the tide is going out. There is probably something deep and meaningful symbolised therein, but as the Sydney Theatre Company is currently powering along like some kind of clean, green racing schooner, under the twin helm hands of Upton and his wife The Blessed Cate, it’s hard to see what it might be. That aside, the artist has given Andrew a bizarrely large nose – which he doesn’t have.
The only entry I like is “Bishop Elliott and Lady Jacqueline” by Yi Wang, but that’s because there seems to be a perverse and hilarious subtext to a bishop resplendent in his purple and regalia and a large fluffy pussy.
This year there were 849 Archibald entries, 798 Wynne entries and 615 Sulman entries and more information on all can be found on the gallery website, www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. The Archie-Wynne-Sulman show is at AGNSW from 27 March-30 May 2010, then an edited show tours for the rest of the year.
