NEIL HADDON
The Visit

Judges’ Comments

A thoughtful, multilayered painting that incorporates numerous visual references to contact history in Tasmania and beyond. They include colonial landscapes by John Glover, an image of H G Wells on a bicycle, and the Tahitian paintings by French artist Paul Gauguin. The blue targets hover like eyes gazing at the audience while simultaneously providing a portal into the landscape. The artist’s distinctive, refined technique indicates a point of resolution in his practice that is well worthy of the prize.