HIDDEN FACES
The 2022 Victorian Salon des Refusés
This portrait was submitted to the 2017 Doug Moran Prize.
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Cat#8 Janine Good
ALL AUSTRALIAN Acrylic on Canvas 184 cm w x 230 cm h - 20 canvases NFS Artist’s Statement My concept for All Australian was to take the idea of ‘the rich tapestry of cultural diversity’ and create a patchwork of portraits that display the various skin tones of Multicultural Australia as a unified image that celebrates diversity. The cultures represented loosely track the history of the human footprint on Australia - starting with Australia’s First People followed by the various waves of immigration since colonial settlement until the present day. All Australian avoids labelling based on culture, gender, denomination, profession, class or age, the youngest is aged 13 and the oldest 80 years. The portrait subjects are identified by name alone and are presented as equals. They represent 19 nations from various regions of the world including Australian Indigenous Gunai Kurnai, Afghanistan, Britain, China, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Māori, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Russia, Scotland, South Sudan, Syria and Thailand. Some of these people are Australian born, some migrated, and some are refugees. This portrayal is just a fragment of the 270+ ancestries identified in Australia today but All Australian aims to symbolise cultural diversity, not document it. The eyes of each of the faces aim to engage, not to confront or challenge but to be seen as a person rather than a statistic, a proud individual, each different but all part of an Australian society - accepting of diversity. If we can live in harmony, we can better face the challenges of the future together. I’d like to thank Adaw, Adriaan, Aref, Chézahn, David, Elise, Eptesam, Gabriel, Ken & Terrylene, Laquon, Mamta & Verma, Murray, Nataly, Phakkamon, Regina, Rocky, Shahnaz & Van for generously volunteering as portrait subjects for the project. I was inspired by the words of John Lennon’s song of humanity “Imagine” during more than 200 hours I spent painting these portraits. “Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world … You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us, And the world will be as one.” |