Selected as a finalist in the 2026 Portia Geach Memorial Award with my portrait of Phaptawan Suwannakudt,
‘Phaptawan and Murphy’ – acrylic on canvas. 152 x 122cm
Contemporary Thai-Australian artist Phaptawan Suwannakudt grew up in Thailand learning the craft of traditional temple mural painting by watching her father, master muralist Paiboon Suwannakudt. After his early death she took over his role leading teams of mural painters across Thailand. In the male domain of temple painting, this was highly unusual, as women were excluded from religious ordination and roles within temple hierarchies. In a patriarchal society under a military regime, speaking out, especially as a woman, was discouraged and dangerous. “Silence was always the solution” she said. In one temple she witnessed a 12 year old girl being sold by her parents to a brothel agency. This disturbing encounter prompted her to shift from traditional to contemporary feminist themes focusing on social injustices. Migrating to Australia in 1996 Phaptawan continued to explore her cultural and ethnic identity, completing a visual arts degree from Sydney College of the Arts in 2006. Exhibiting internationally, she is recognised as a pioneering figure in Southeast Asian feminist art and a founding member of Womanifesto, an influential transnational women’s art collective. I have painted Phaptawan wearing her favourite colour vermillion, nursing her cat Murphy.