Controversial Cardinal George Pell Portrait Wins Irreverent 2016 Bald Archy Prize
By Deborah Rice
A controversial painting depicting Cardinal George Pell with a face formed from male genitalia has won Australia's most irreverent portraiture prize. Warning: This story contains a graphic image Titled 'Nothing to Say', the painting is the work of artist Pat Hudson, a first time entrant in the Bald Archy, which is a parody of the more serious and revered Archibald Prize. "It's a great honour and a big surprise," Hudson, from Templestowe in Victoria, said. The 2016 contenders were unveiled in Canberra in February and the artist said he painted the portrait in response to the controversy surrounding Cardinal Pell at that time. At the time it was unclear whether the Cardinal would testify at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. He later gave evidence via videolink from Rome over his handling of alleged abuse by Catholic Priests within the church in Australia. Cardinal Pell is not the subject of any allegations of abuse before the commission. "Through all the tragedy and adversity of what actually went on, it seemed there was a sense of absurdity to it with the church's response, so that's what I was trying to capture in the picture," Hudson said. The artist was reluctant to comment on whether the painting was intentionally obscene. "I prefer to leave that to the viewers of the painting to decide what they see in it," he said. "It's interesting at the exhibition here to be with people who have seen it and to hear what they're saying, and everybody here is seeing something different, or noticing something different about it, or taking a different meaning from it." The ABC contacted the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney for comment but at the time the prize was announced it was early morning in Rome and the Cardinal was not available. A further prize for Pell It is not the first time Cardinal Pell has been the subject of the winning Bald Archy portrait.
In 2005 he was depicted with Tony Abbott sitting on his lap, as if he was a ventriloquist with a puppet, in a painting by Tony Sowersby. Cardinal Pell and Mr Abbott are among many distinguished Australians who can claim the dubious honour. Others portrayed have included John Howard, Pauline Hanson, Kerry Packer and Shane Warne.
This year, other subjects included Malcolm Turnbull, Bronwyn Bishop and Adam Goodes. The national competition encourages contestants of all styles and standards to create comic or satirical portrait paintings and entries ranging from the hilarious to the bizarrely vulgar. It pokes fun at the absurdity of judging art, with its founder Peter Batey claiming the winner is chosen by a sulphur-crested cockatoo named Maude. The Bald Archy Prize was first awarded in 1994 at the Festival of Fun in Coolac, a small village outside Gundagai in southern New South Wales.
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