Archibald Prize 2022

Yesterday, Dhungatti artist Blak Douglas was awarded the 2022 Archibald prize and $100000 for his work Moby Dickens — the largest painting in this year's…

Harding is a 19-time Archibald finalist (winning in 2001), a 9-time Wynne finalist and a 3-time Sulman finalist; this year, his winning work is an oil paint landscape in dominating hues of green and earthy browns. Further, the work has pinned threads of jute that extend across the work from a single plait like a web, creating a visually interesting and dimensional facade. Water leaks through the ineffectual buckets in the hands of Dickens, serving as an allegorical representation of the climate crisis slipping through our hands and the nearly insurmountable challenges it poses to communities. Their flat bases represent what Douglas describes as the “false ceiling of government.” Additionally, the 14 clouds represent the number of days the rains and floods devastated the Northern Rivers area. The monumental work blends elements of realism and graphic styles to create a unique aesthetic. Douglas is a six-time Archibald finalist and a 2009 Wynne Prize finalist, renowned for his portraiture of First Nations people.