The Portia Geach Memorial Award is an annual art prize for portraiture by Australian women artists – a portrait painted from life of a man or woman distinguished in art, letters or the sciences. The Award was established in the will of the late Florence Kate Geach in memory of her artist sister Portia Geach. Exhibition 3 Nov-17 Dec 2023.
‘Mai and Maggie’ acrylic on canvas 182 x 148cm
Mai Nguyễn-Long is a multi-disciplinary artist. Born in Tasmania to a Vietnamese father and an Australian mother, Mai grew up in Papua New Guinea and the Philippines; as an adult she has lived in Australia, China, and Vietnam. Her experiences during times of social and political upheaval continue to shape her sense of identity and belonging, informing the work she makes across a range of mediums – painting, drawing, clay, sculpture and installation. I have painted her in a dress bought in Hanoi, cradling her childhood doll Maggie. Mai considers Maggie to be her surrogate daughter, “my shameful secret, my closest confidante, my peacekeeper” a ‘cloud doll’ who continues to absorb some of her ongoing childhood trauma. They stand encased in a prism of purple, a colour that in Vietnam denotes nostalgia, separation, longing, love and fidelity.