Deborah Trusson Naked

This self-portrait of Deborah Trusson is part of a body of work about body image. She explores her perceptions of the way other people see her and an internalisation of the way she views herself. As part of this series she has done a large number of self-portraits, all nude.

When painting them, Trusson uses a mirror and photographs as well as close self-examination for skin tones. She describes it as an interesting process and says that she has largely got used to the confronting nature of the work. However, she admits that with some of the images she still finds it difficult. “I actually realised I’d gone too far when I gave a talk and I couldn’t stop crying,” she says. ‘But you do get to a point where the painting takes over and it’s the painting, it’s not me anymore.”

Born in Port Augusta, South Australia in 1957, Trusson is a portrait artist. She received a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from Adelaide Central School of Art in 2003 and was awarded a one-year study scholarship. She had a solo exhibition at Greenhill Galleries in Adelaide earlier this year and has been represented in many group exhibitions including the prestigious Perth Institute of Contemporary Art graduate exhibition. This is her first time in the Archibald Prize.