PRIME MINISTERS OF AUSTRALIA
A COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH
MATTHEW TOME
1999 - 2001
Formed part of the exhibition, A Little Respect
Regional Galleries of Australia Tour, 1999 - 2001
This is the third in the series of collaborative cycles by Matthew Tome and Michael Kempson, which selectively chronicles the political and social climate of Australia’s Prime Ministers in images and pattern, and involve a distinct but subtle use of satire. These portraits are based on standard press or documentary photos of the Prime Ministers, infused with screens and layers of decorative and symbolic images. The prints use a double square horizontal format and the images were developed and manipulated on the computer. They were then printed entirely using the screenprinting process. It was our intention for the series to move away from conventional political portraiture and embrace some element beyond the expected. They act to evoke the era of the men – as they are all men! – and their political life.
