Clare Thackway Billow and tide

Clare Thackway’s subject is artist Lauren Brincat, whose work crosses between sound and sculpture, performance and installation.

‘Lauren and I became friends nine years ago, when we lived through a Berlin winter. She recently sent me a package of photographs from a trip we took together to Prague, an exchange that resulted in me painting her portrait,’ says Thackway.

‘In Billow and tide, Lauren is standing in my studio with suspended drapery. Striped cloth, which is a recurring trope in my work, holds various social and emblematic symbolism. In this instance, it relates to a nautical stripe. Collaboration, sail cloth, ropes and pulleys have featured in Lauren’s work throughout her practice. In her work, ever-changing, billowing fabric alludes to tidal currents as she considers the ocean borders and the impact of human behaviour on rising sea levels.’

Born in Canberra in 1984, Thackway lives and works in Austinmer on the New South Wales south coast. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University and Honours in painting from the National Art School. She has been a finalist in the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the Sulman Prize. This is her first time in the Archibald Prize.