Acrylic on cotton on canvas - ready to hang 102 x 102cm
Lester Prize portrait entry
Subject Mel Ree - Artist/Poet/Actor
This painting is a celebration of the cultural diversity that makes up the vast population of Australia.
Melanie Ree is of proud Papuan/ Australian descent. She is passionately involved in theatre and many of her performances explore the duality that lies within the women of the Pacific Diaspora. Her most recent collaboration with ‘Black Birds’ explores the connect and disconnect felt by displaced Pacific peoples. My portrait strongly highlights Melanie's mixed cultural heritage and the intense pride she feels about her native Papuan roots. Her stance is fierce, she wears a shell collar that originates from her mother’s village in Papua New Guinea, the floral arrangement in her hair, inspired by the ceremonial adornment of the women of Papua, are Australian native flora symbolising her Father's heritage and the place she has called home since the age of 6.
*As this is a framed piece shipping will be calculated separately, or you can arrange to collect from the studio.
