Can Everyone Wink with Both Eyes? by Atticus Jones

I was born in Brisbane and started my first year of school here before moving to Tamborine Mountain. I started drawing as soon as I could hold a pencil. I visited the Brisbane Galleries every week with my Mum when I was young, and I still love visiting them now on school holidays. This year I was honoured to be a Young Archie Finalist as part of the 100th year celebration of the Archibald Competition.

Malcom and I have grown up together, and doing this charcoal portrait made me think about why our friendship is so important to me. Sometimes your friends feel like family. Malcom makes me laugh. He’s someone I trust. We talk about the stuff we’re into like music, pop culture, cars and art. We talk about what we hope to be when we grow up. Sometimes we talk about bigger picture stuff too like world issues and why people behave the way they do. I guess our friendship is helping us both figure out our place in the world. We understand each other, and sometimes we just come up with random questions about life – like wondering if everyone can wink with both eyes.

In this portrait, I wanted to capture a moment in time. The title of the piece invites the audience to see if they too can wink with both eyes. I wanted this portrait of my friend to evoke for the viewer memories of important friendships whilst growing up. Time changes in the blink of an eye