RAVENSWOOD AUSTRALIAN WOMAN'S ART PRIZE

Finalist in the Ravenswood, Australian Women’s Art Prize, 2023.

Heads of the Family is a very personal collection of memorial portraits made during the final weeks of my stepfather George’s life. From the living room I attempted to paint friends and family who came to say their final goodbyes, capturing deeply personal emotion in the un-staged  environment of a family home. What began as an exercise in documenting mortality and kinship, soon became a ritual around grief and uncertainty that helped us to accept, weep, celebrate and simply be together with George. Over my 30 years of painting portraits, it was these 24 that taught me the profound storytelling power of real-time portraiture and solace to us all during such difficult times.

PODCAST Talking with Painters Jacqui talks about Heads of the Family with Maria Stoljar, Sept 2022.