Quiet Company
Kate Wigginton
- Sitter: Anna Jenkins
- Medium: Oil on Canvas
- Dimensions: 31cm x 23cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
- Categories: Female artist
2026 Emerging Artist Prize
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EY
About the artwork
This portrait began as an act of gratitude. During a difficult period in Kate Wigginton’s life, Anna Jenkins showed up with patience, kindness and steady encouragement. Wigginton wanted to honour that, not through a formal depiction, but through a quiet moment of intimacy between Jenkins and Maggie the dog, curled together at the end of the day.
Jenkins is an impressive young woman, currently studying Physics and International Relations at the University of Queensland. She tutors local primary school students and is actively engaged in community and labour advocacy, supporting young workers and women in politics through the Queensland Council of Unions and the broader union movement. Rather than portraying these public commitments, Wigginton has chosen to capture Jenkins’ capacity for care and quiet presence. “I am interested in the ways intimacy can exist outside spectacle or performance, and in capturing the emotional weight carried by ordinary moments and everyday relationships.”
About the artist
Kate Wigginton is a self-taught Brisbane based emerging artist working in oil painting. Her practice explores femininity, vulnerability and the emotional relationships between women and animals. She is drawn to quiet moments of tenderness, care and shared presence. Quiet Company is among her earliest exhibited works.
Judges Notes
This gentle work is an act of gratitude to a friend. The artist has captured the sitter not in their day job, but in a quiet moment of intimacy, showing their capacity for care and quiet presence. It’s a tender reflection of Jenkins and Maggie the dog, curled together at the end of the day.
