LIDCOMBE’S Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran has been named as a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2020 for the second year in a row.
His self-portrait depicting him as an avatar, is the largest painting he’s produced from his Western Sydney studio in one sitting – using only three brushes and a pair of gloves – and shows him with his arms outstretched and ascending towards an imaginative realm.
“By portraying this narrative, I wanted to connect to mythologies across times and regions where humans have engaged in experiences beyond the rational world,” he said.
“Judeo-Christian, Buddhist and Hindu narratives are of particular interest. I wanted to harness the vitality and life force of painting.
“The current global situation obliges us to form new relationships with touch and tactility, so I felt it important to capture immediate, energetic gestures and preserve traces of my hand in the work’s surface.”
Born in Sri Lanka in 1988, Nithiyendran came to Australia in 1989 and has a Master and Bachelor of Fine Arts from NSW University.
All finalists in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes 2020, will be exhibited at the NSW Art Gallery until January 10.
More info at artgallery.nsw.gov.au.