Philip James Mylecharane
Multifacet figure with augments | 2025 | Oil on board | 35 x28cm
Sunshine Coast National Art Prize 2025 - Finalist
Image courtesy of the artist
Artist Statement
In this portrait, I am aiming for a contingent depiction of human form that escapes cliche and facsimile. The paint registers a reality of the human image, yet each element is singular and simultaneously complimentary. This accumulation of mark and form aims to separate this work from representational depiction or abstract lyricism, whilst alluding to both.
In situating a painting between forms of visual language there is a withholding of closure and finality. This perhaps invokes tension and ambiguity, however I also believe it invites a sense of poignancy. The change, contrast and accident present in the work embody the feelings and indetermination we may find in ourselves and each other. Rather than emulate, painting can invent a way to understand and comprehend reality.