Father's Love
Lesley Wengembo
- Sitter: David Mead
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 90cm x 60cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
David Mead is a Papua New Guinea born rugby league legend, who played 171 games with the Broncos and Titans, 58 super league games for the Catalans Dragons and captained the PNG national team, the Kumuls. He retired from a 14 year professional career in 2022.
This portrait is a thoughtful depiction of the footballer and father, and his son. “This piece has a narrative that evokes memories of the past and also the future, for fathers and sons.”
A commentary on being a father in a complicated and changing world, this tender double portrait shows David Mead gently holding his son, while he peacefully sleeps. David is alert, vigilant and protective.
“A father and a son bonding is a lot different to a daughter. A son who will do almost everything to make his father proud, and father who will always toughen his son to face the storm. And how will he protect his son from outside influence rather than his own? This is a journey for both.”
The pair are positioned in a Turner inspired landscape with the bright light forming a halo around the two. Turners sky “…speaks of journey, place and time, capturing dramatic landscapes with a touch of sun or glow in the distance, evoking hope in the turbulent scene.”
About the artist
Lesley Wengembo is a Papua New Guinean born artist, who grew up Morata, Port Moresby, one of the city’s largest squatter settlements. This difficult environment led him to discover art. “Fascinated by painting, art enabled me to escape my reality.” He is a regular visitor to Cairns and Brisbane. In 2019, a scholarship from Tim Fairfax enabled him to study full-time at the National Art School in Sydney. He has been a Brisbane Portrait Prize finalist twice, and specialises in large-scale photorealistic portraits.
