Very pleased to be selected as a Finalist in the Blake Prize thanks to family friends and colleagues who support my art making
THE 68TH BLAKE ART PRIZE
Since 1951, The Blake Prize has engaged artists, nationally and internationally, with ideas of spirituality and religion. The prize takes its name from William Blake, the world-famous 18th Century artist, and poet who threaded the religious and artistic throughout his practice. Building on this history, The 68th Blake Prize continues to encourage contemporary artists of varied styles and religious and spiritual allegiances to create significant works of art, which engage in conversations and negotiations concerning spirituality, religion and/or belief.
I submitted the work Death of the Settler
Death of the Settler Copyright Eureka O'Hanlon 2023
Death of the Settler references Holbein’s Body of the Dead Christ. It was taken in a butcher’s shop in the Goldfields town of Clunes, Victoria that has never been renovated, near where my own ancestors settled in the 1800s. The image was taken on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people It is part of my ongoing scrutiny of my Catholic and Settler history through the metaphor of the male nude. This image combines the contrary forces of desire and death. The model is a local mechanic whose body reflects a physically active life now posed at rest, the setting of a butcher’s shop referencing Settler dominion over the land and its inherent violence. My art is inspired by the work of my late friend and mentor Rev Michael Bernard Kelly and his seminal work “Seduced by Grace” that seeks to reconcile queer desire with Catholic belief
Location thanks to Rod Spark
Model :Ross
The work will be on exhibition at the Casula Arts Centre Casula NSW Australia
Exhibition Dates: Saturday 11th May – Sunday 7th July 2024
Launch: Saturday 18th May 2024, 2 – 5pm
