Gina

Well, one has to check out the famous pic, doesn't one?  No, the painting of Gina Rinehart is not flattering but it's become one of the most notable in Australia after attention was brought to it by a campaign to disappear it.  The National Gallery decided otherwise.  I was amused that someone suggested it could have been bought then destroyed.  That may be the way of unflattering paintings, or maybe not: politicians are known for buying and saving cartoons of themselves and they are seldom flattering.  Not sure.  But it's not alone.  Vincent Namatjira seems to paint others in much the same way when he paints people of power and influence and even himself.  We continued a walk through of the Aboriginal wing at the Gallery.  I am taken by the new wave of Aboriginal art, the vibrant, outspoken politics of it all, but also the more traditional themes, often done in western techniques.  A room of linocuts intrigued both of us.  Just a quick visit as is possible for the local gallery.