Carla Fletcher Charge of the Star Goddess (((Del Kathryn Barton)))

Del Kathryn Barton has won the Archibald Prize twice, in 2008 with a self-portrait with her two children, and in 2013 with a portrait of Hugo Weaving.

This is Carla Fletcher’s fifth time as an Archibald Prize finalist. ‘This portrait of Del is connected to my 2015 and 2016 Archibald portraits of Australian fashion designers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson, both in the technical application of mixed media and in the magical, colourful and cosmic energy that they each bring to our world,’ she says.

‘Introduced by a mutual friend, my meeting with Del was electric, healing and full of love. In my portrait of her as the Star Goddess, seven chakra energy eyes witness her playing with primordial cosmic energy as she brings her creativity onto Earth. She has two sets of hands, which allow the real and imagined to coexist, and she is flanked by psychedelic wings that symbolise Del’s cherished mother who passed away a couple of years ago.’

Born in Melbourne in 1978, Fletcher has a Bachelor of Fine Art (Drawing), with distinction, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). She has been a finalist in the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, the Sulman Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award and the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture.