A handful of works stand out from a selection that seems to have been made for variety rather than quality.
there are nine circles of Hell, each reserved for a different kind of sinner. The lustful get thrown about by storms, the gluttonous wallow in icy slush, heretics are trapped in flaming tombs … But try as I might, I’ve never been able to locate the particular niche in which the sinner is obliged to review the Archibald Prize for all eternity.
The show reflects a cross-section of Australian society, our current fads and preoccupations. There’s a persistent sense that the Archibald is as much a sociological exercise as an artistic one. It would have been almost unfair to give Tsering the prize her father has been denied on so many occasions, but that was never going to happen. It’s another Archibald syndrome that a technically excellent painting will be included only as a concession to public taste. One could barely imagine a more honest picture than Hannaford’s portrait of her dad, who sits with his arms folded, his head angled slightly to one side, as if he’s sizing us up for one of his own paintings.
Among the works that felt too gimmicky for comfort, Shaun Gladwell’s Julian Assange must top the list, with the subject’s face turned into a hot air balloon, emblazoned with the stars and stripes, peace doves, helicopters, rows of waving figures and what I take to be an image of the late Queen Elizabeth.
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