Tying shoelaces

What am I on about here? Tying your shoelaces is one of those everyday things we do without thinking anything at all. Once we’ve learned this basic but essential skill, it can become a completely mindless activity for the rest of our life. By slowing down the action, we can once again appreciate how complex the skill actually is, and how strangely fascinating – fingers wrestling with and eventually taming two opposing ends of the same piece of string.

Archibald Prize 2017

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.