A poignant painting with a nod to Lismore's flood has been named this year's winner of the prestigious Archibald Prize.
It has just been announced the 2022 Archibald Prize has been awarded to Blak Douglas (aka Adam Hill), for his portrait of artist Karla Dickens, titled 'Moby Dickens'.
A five-time Archibald Prize finalist, Blak Douglas is a Sydney-based artist with Dhungatti heritage.
Douglas painted his good friend, Wiradjuri woman Karla Dickens for the 101st year of the Archies depicting Dickens in the recent floods in her home town of Lismore which devastated her community and her own studio.
"I'm elated to be the first New South Wales First Nations artist to win with a portrait of a New South Wales First Nations artist. It's a major historic win," Douglas said.
"Karla is my favourite female First Nations artist, we are dear friends, we are birds of a feather when it comes to our sentiment in art, and I really admire the way she pieces together her work.
"It just happens that I was there in Lismore immediately after the first deluge in January and saw the shock and horror on people's faces," Douglas said.
"Karla had just reached a pivotal point in her career and almost immediately the flood catastrophe happened. So, when she should have ordinarily been excited about where her career was going, she was harbouring three families in Lismore as part of her own rescue mission."
You can see this stunning portrait on display in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prize exhibition, opening tomorrow, at the NSW Art Gallery (Saturday 14 May)
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I'm a media professional with over 34 years of experience in public relations and journalism, including a decade setting Lismore's news agenda as the editor of The Northern Star. I have proven track record in growing audiences and improving engagement by delivering quality local stories for and about the Lismore community.
I'm a media professional with over 34 years of experience in public relations and journalism, including a decade setting Lismore's news agenda as the editor of The Northern Star. I have proven track record in growing audiences and improving engagement by delivering quality local stories for and about the Lismore community.
