An Ode to My Absent Whole by Kailum Graves

In this arresting self-portrait, Kailum Graves challenges the conventions of portraiture, creating a collage from thousands of fragments of his life including old photos, torn letters and scribbled notes. It is not an image of straightforward likeness, but one that highlights his experience living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I chose this fragmented form to mirror how memory and identity feel when shaped by complex trauma – non-linear, layered, disjointed, yet still whole in their own way… I’m interested in how the self is shaped through rupture and repair. Much of my work deals with invisibility, silence and the quiet resilience that emerges from brokenness. I’m drawn to melancholic beauty, to the poetry of fragmentation and to the idea that art can be a kind of survival. This work reflects my longing to be seen and held without fear.”

This is the fourth time Graves has been selected as a finalist in the Brisbane Portrait Prize.