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<docID>337715</docID>
<postdate>2025-02-06 14:43:01</postdate>
<headline>Bald Archy zaps in on Aussie personalities</headline>
<body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-337706" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Brad-Blaze-A-Chip-Off-the-Old-Croc-3.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<caption>Brad Blaze, A Chip Off the Old Croc, Bob Irwin, detail</caption>
<p><strong>The 29th Bald Archy Prize is up and running at Watson Arts Centre from Friday and  CityNews took a quiet walk-through of the hang on Thursday morning. </strong></p>
<p>Premiering in its spiritual home, Canberra, the exhibition will run for nearly two months here before the winner of the $10,000 prize is announced on March 21, after which the show will tour eastern Australia.</p>
<p>When I arrived at Watson Arts Centre, I found Luke Grealy, manager of the Museum of the Riverina in Wagga Wagga, which now hosts the prize, deep in conference with a group of art experts assisting the chief judge, Maude, the sulphur-crested cockatoo from Coolac, where the late Peter Batey had founded the prize in 1994.</p>
<p>Up for debate was whether a mixed-media collage image of Archy regular Costa Georgiadis was eligible, but a quick call to Wagga and a nod from Maude confirmed that the portrait was in.</p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-337713" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/No-Sferatu-by-Matt-Bissett-Johnson.jpg" alt="" width="745" height="900" /></p>
<caption>No-Sferatu, by Matt Bissett-Johnson, Peter Dutton</caption>
<p>Year in year out a barometer of the social climate in Australia, the Bald Archy has regular favourite subjects, though their reign can be short-lived.</p>
<p>Among them, opposition leader Peter Dutton once again takes out first prize as subject, with no fewer than six representations.</p>
<p>Mining magnate Gina Rinehart is next with three portraits, including an unusual one by Kez Thompson, Heads You Loose, a triptych of book pages showing PM Anthony Albanese and Mr Dutton paying homage to Ms Rinehart.</p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-337707" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ez-Thompson-Heads-You-Loose.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<caption>Kez Thompson, Heads You Loose</caption>
<p>From the cartoon world, there’s a quirky portrait of Media Watch host Paul Barry by Mark Tippett and a similarly distorted image of singer Nick Cave by Judy Naidin in Wild God.</p>
<p>Naturalist Bob Irwin is shown by Brad Blaze in a loving pose with a crocodile, just like his late father Steve.</p>
<p><img class="size-full wp-image-337711" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Michael-Breens-The-Benny-Factor-Speak-Softley-and-Carry-a-Big-Stick.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<caption>Michael Breen’s The Benny Factor (Speak Softley and Carry a Big Stick), Wayne Bennett</caption>
<p>The sporting world is well-represented, with among others a strange image of Rabbitohs’ coach Wayne Bennett and Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary pictured  twice, in James Brennan’s It’s a Chin-Win Situation and Steve Keast’s The Iceman Cometh.</p>
<p><em>The Bald Archy Prize 2025, Watson Arts Centre, 1 Aspinall St Watson, February 7-March 23.</em></p>
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<div class="tiled-gallery-caption" itemprop="caption description"> Miss Congeniality by Joanne(Jojo) Skillington </div>
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<div class="tiled-gallery-item tiled-gallery-item-small" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject"> <a href="https://citynews.com.au/2025/bald-archy-zaps-in-on-aussie-personalities/judy-naidin-in-wild-god/" border="0" itemprop="url"> <meta itemprop="width" content="206"> <meta itemprop="height" content="324"> <img class="" data-attachment-id="337710" data-orig-file="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God.jpg" data-orig-size="573,900" data-comments-opened="1" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1"}" data-image-title="Judy Naidin, Wild God" data-image-description="" data-medium-file="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God-573x400.jpg" data-large-file="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God-573x800.jpg" src="https://i0.wp.com/citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God.jpg?w=206&h=324&ssl=1" srcset="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God.jpg 573w, https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God-382x600.jpg 382w, https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Judy-Naidin-in-Wild-God-509x800.jpg 509w" width="206" height="324" loading="lazy" data-original-width="206" data-original-height="324" itemprop="http://schema.org/image" title="Judy Naidin, Wild God" alt="Judy Naidin, Wild God, Nick Cave" style="width: 206px; height: 324px;" /> </a> </p>
<div class="tiled-gallery-caption" itemprop="caption description"> Judy Naidin, Wild God, Nick Cave </div>
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<div class="tiled-gallery-caption" itemprop="caption description"> James Brennan’s It’s a Chin-Win Situation, Nathan Cleary </div>
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