We are happy to announce that Sophia Hewson was one of the finalist for the Archibald Prize.
“This self-portrait was based on a performance that we did in Melbourne. It was intentionally public, fast, and cheaply documented, to reference the methods of pornography” says Sophia Hewson.
“I was using my body in this work to try and open up a dialogue on female self-objectification (when a woman intentionally sexually objectifies herself). Sometimes I think self-objectification can be constructive. It can be used to claim back ownership of the body or to assert: ‘I can exhibit my sexuality without it amounting to my sexual availability.’
“Other times I think it can reflect the way the patriarchal value system has been internalised. But I don’t feel you can expect a woman, who has unconsciously internalised ‘male’ values, to see herself as a space where something has been lost. A new identity needs to be formed.”
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The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’.
This open competition is judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW. Finalists are displayed in an exhibition at the Gallery (although in the early years all entrants were hung). Although it is a non-acquisitive prize, several of the entries are now part of the Gallery’s collection.
