Some impressions from the 2018 Biennale.

Each year I visit the Archibald Prize exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. This year I was particularly impressed by the following works.

This portrait by Anh Oh of an aboriginal man with incredibly capturing eyes.

This almost three-dimensional portrait by Ashley Frost of Janet Dawson.

The deserved winner, Mitch Cairns’ beautifully composed portrait of his partner Agatha Gothe-Snape.

Almost sculptural is this painting by Noel Thurgate of Peter Powditch:

This vibrant painting by Wawiriya Burton depicting her father’s homeland.

And the painting I spent the most time with, this amazing large scale landscape work by Nicholas Harding.

Whilst the institution of marriage is at least a questionable one, the answer here is a clear yes for me.

I’m no expert, but one doesn’t have to be one to have an opinion. No doubt the experts will soon be telling us precisely what led to the unlikely Trump being elected next president against all predictions. As always it’s probably a multitude of factors that led to this historical accident. Would the outcome have been the same if Trump’s opponent hadn’t been called Clinton (many probably through “been there done that”)? If his opponent hadn’t been a woman (not that this should matter)? If Trump hadn’t called himself a non-politician (now that definitely had to appeal to the disenfranchised)?

The fact that both candidates carried with them quite a bit of baggage forced the people of America to choose between the lesser of two evils. A perfect scenario for a protest vote? A kick in the teeth for the established elite by the scores of disenfranchised people sick of all talk and no action? Here was someone who had achieved something in his life, even if it was all for his own benefit. Here is someone who turned a paltry million dollars into an empire worth billions. That’s the embodiment of the American Dream… kind of. Still, it’s pretty impressive that someone who can talk so much rubbish becomes the next president of a democratic country. Clearly, the majority doesn’t always make the best choice. But he was able to differentiate himself, and that’s all that mattered in the end.

But need we be so worried that Trump’s verbal clumsiness will result in nuclear fireworks, environmental disaster, or economic collapse? After all, politicians rarely keep their pre-election promises, and in this case that would actually be a good thing. Donald Trump might pretty quickly come to regret having put his hand up for the top job once he’s in the Oval Office, when he realises that building a personal empire is much simpler than running an entire country. He will have to rely on an army of advisers, who will no doubt have a very hard time staying balanced between stroking his enormous ego and telling him things like, “Your Majesty, building a wall won’t really solve the problem, they are very good a digging tunnels.” Only one thing is certain: the man who has expressed his disdain for the media has just guaranteed them at least four years’ worth of juicy political headlines.

I recall lining up at sporting events trying (and sometimes succeeding) to get autographs of sports stars. Fast forward 30 years, and the selfie has clearly replaced the autograph.