For the second time, Bungendore artist Kerry McInnis has been shortlisted for the Archibald Prize, this time for her portrait of Lao-Australian Canberra artist, Savanhdary Vongpoothorn.
Vongpoothorn, who came to Australia with her parents when at age seven, uses texts and concepts from Theravada Buddhism, as well motifs and symbols from traditional Lao textile weaving in her perforated canvases and works on paper. She has recently exhibited at Tuggeranong Arts Centre.
“I have long admired the integrity and execution of Savanhdary’s oeuvre, appreciating the complexity of the intercultural connections it illuminates,” McInnis said.
“I decided to make her central to the composition, holding a favourite textile, with a reference to her work genre in the background.”
The winners in the $100,000 Archibald Prize, along with winners in the Wynne and Sulman Prize competitions will be announced next week. The prize exhibition will run at the Art Gallery of NSW, May 10-August 17.
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