Arguably, Australia’s most popular comic portrait prize, The Bald Archy, celebrates its 21st birthday with a change of Sydney venue, making it the first art exhibition to be shown at Leichhardt’s recently developed Italian Forum.
This year’s collection of 50 finalists features satirical images of such home-grown celebrities as Mitchell Johnson, Reg Mombassa, Gai Waterhouse, Tina Arena, James Packer, Tony Abbott, and, not surprisingly 10 versions of Australia’s fattest politician, Clive Palmer. There was also Education Minister Christopher Pyne in a dunce’s hat and Gardening Australia host Costa Geordiadis squatting to add a personal touch to fertilisation.
Now known internationally as the only art competition in the world to be judged by a sulphur-crested cockatoo named Maude, the satirical side of this event has its basis in the irreverent, larrikin Australian comic comment, with great appeal to people from all walks of life, the reason why the exhibition of finalists keeps breaking attendance records wherever it is shown.
This year’s winner by Newcastle artist, Judy Nadin, is of a very raunchy Mitchell Johnson, an Australian cricketer, flying through the air on a wrecking ball, a la Miley Cyrus, entitled Wrecking Balls (Ashes To Ashes).
The Prize provides artists of all styles and standards with a genuine opportunity, ranging from the hilarious to the bizarrely vulgar, to create portrait paintings of humour, dark satire, light comedy or caricature.
The Prize began in 1994 as part of the Coolac Festival, and was the brainchild of Peter Batey OAM, who has rejected suggestions that it had finally grown up. “You could hardly call it a coming of age,” Peter Batey said. ”It would be a great shame if the child-like quality of the Bald Archies was swamped by maturity.”
Italian Forum, Leichhardt
25 July to 24 August, 2014
Sydney
Also at
Swanpool & District Memorial Hall
5 to 20 July, 2014
Victoria (the only Victorian showing)
2014 Winner, Judy Nadin, Wrecking Balls (Ashes To Ashes)
