Alex Thorby Portrait of Will

Alex Thorby has painted Will Gollins, whom she describes as ‘a young man from Liverpool, England, who arrived in Australia in April 2019 armed with high hopes and a chemistry degree. The last thing he expected was to fall in love with my daughter during a pandemic’.

‘For many young people, the pandemic encompasses a disheartening struggle, where displacement and uncertainty quell their self-confidence and ambitions. I asked Will to sit, illuminated in the afternoon light waning into the glow of the computer. I worked quickly from life to capture him in a concentrated moment, as he undertook his daily search for employment.’

Thorby was born in Sydney in 1963. She has a Bachelor of Education (Art) and a post-graduate Diploma in painting from the University of New South Wales. For ten years she was a lecturer in painting and drawing at Western Sydney TAFE. This is her first time as a finalist in the Archibald Prize.