Kerry McInnis says her painting of Savanhdary Vongpoothorn is “loaded with significance”. Photo: Mike MacGregor.
Turning her eye to Canberra has placed a Bungendore artist in contention for a national prize.
Kerry McInnis’ portrait of fellow artist Savanhdary Vongpoothorn, titled Savanhdary, has been named a finalist in this year’s Archibald Prize.
“I feel very honoured to be included. I think a lot of it has to do with who my subject was – there’s no way it’s all about the artist,” she said.
“At least half is about the subject. Credit should be given to Savanhdary’s reputation as an artist.”
She said making it as a finalist was tough, with 57 finalists selected out of 903 entries.
“You never know what’s going to get in … people tend to regard it as a bit of a circus, and if you get in, it’s very pleasing, but everyone’s used to getting rejections,” she said.
“I was hopeful, but it’s always a bit of a lottery.”
The collaboration between the two women started after a recent show at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, where Lao-Australian painter and installation artist Ms Vongpoothorn was one of the featured artists.
“I had seen her work before, for quite a few years now,” Ms McInnis said.
“She’s an abstract painter … her work is very abstract and it’s not the genre that I paint in, but I like it. I like what she does.”
Ms McInnis contacted Ms Vongpoothorn and after some emailing to figure out the details, they met up to start the artwork.
“I just do a very quick work with pastel and charcoal. That’s just about an hour sketch,” she said.
“It’s not about trying to get something that is necessarily even a likeness, but it actually gives me the opportunity … to see and to really look.”
It is the second time Ms McInnis has been an Archibald finalist. Photo: Mike MacGregor.
It became the basis of an artwork – which used oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas – that also features several references to Ms Vongpoothorn’s life.
“The textile that she’s holding is one of her favourites, and it has significance as well,” she said.
The painting also features references to Ms Vongpoothorn’s art, as she often makes holes in her canvas as part of her artworks.
“I was trying to represent her work by the dots in the back, but not copy it,” Ms McInnis said.
“Those dots that you see behind her are paint [from painting over a template], not holes.”
Painting it took “a lot of discussion” and some trial-and-error across several months.
“You are representing someone, so you don’t want to do them an injustice by offending them in any way,” she said.
“This one was longer [than her other works], if you added up all the experimentation for the background.”
Capital country creatives are a repeated focus in the work of the Bungendore-based artist.
“I like painting Canberrans. For me, I like highlighting the amazing people that live in our own region,” she said.
“A lot of the Archibald subjects and a lot of the finalists [are] very Sydney-centric, so I like to try and highlight the talent that we have here, locally, in our region.”
Queanbeyan-born Omar Musa, a rapper and poet, was the subject of a 2015 portrait that saw Ms McInnis named a finalist.
While Savanhdary makes it her second round as a finalist, Ms McInnis said she wasn’t waiting for the winner’s announcement.
“There’s some really fantastic paintings in this competition that are sure to be candidates for winning,” she said.
“I’m just so amazed to actually be included as one of the finalists. Winning – I’m not thinking about that.”
The 2025 Archibald Prize winner will be announced on Friday (9 May), while the exhibition is at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney from 10 May until 17 August.
