Selected as a finalist in the 2025 Portia Geach Memorial Award with my portrait of singer, songwriter performer – Jen Cloher ‘Everybody’s trying to find their way home’
Jen Cloher is an award-winning Australian singer song writer and performer and strong advocate for artist rights and the empowerment of First Nations, POC, LGBTIQ+ and women in music culture. After her Māori mother Dorothy and Irish father Thomas met as Catholic Priest and Nun in Aotearoa, NZ they left the church and moved to Australia where Jen was born in Melbourne in 1973. After high school Jen was accepted into NIDA to study acting but it was her love of music that took her to Melbourne where she established Milk Records with Courtney Barnett. Cloher has gone on to release five highly regarded albums and to tour extensively around the world. Jen’s parents passed away in 2011. I have painted two Jens with her mother and father’s faces reflected in mirrors. Carved for her by her Uncle Victor Urlich, the pendant around her neck is based on the moko kauae tattoo worn on the chins of Māori women. As an only child she is conscious of being the last of that branch of the family. She has returned to Aotearoa, NZ to explore her ancestry, immersing herself in her Māori culture and language.
Acrylic on canvas 167 x 122cm