Artist: Nicole O’Loughlin
Title: The artist Mother is present
Subject: Self-portrait
Medium: watercolour, gouache and ink on paper
Size: 86 x 79 cm
Judges’ Comment (Jaklyn Babington, Melissa Harpley, Prof Ted Snell):
“Incorporating the aesthetics of weaving, embroidery and textiles (traditionally deemed ‘women’s work’ and subsequently positioned as political), Nicole O’Loughlin’s composition is embellished with an array of symbolic flora and fauna. Yet, the image speaks directly to female artistic endurance. Many personas are present within this ‘self-portrait’: we find a maker, a working mother, as well as reference to some of the greatest women artists of the 20th and 21st centuries (including a title nod to Marina Abramovich). In this way, the artist ‘works’ the image: literally and metaphorically weaving together a medieval icon, matrilineal art history and her own personal experience. O’Loughlin uses the portrait genre as a means to celebrate the numerous layers and constellation of influences that comprise us all. A highly commended work.”