The theme of episode two is women – why they’ve been virtually marginalised from Archibald history.
Since trailblazer Nora Heysen, who won the prize in 1938, only nine others have followed in her footsteps: Judy Cassab (twice in the 1960s), Cheryl Hood, Janet Dawson, Davida Allen, Wendy Sharpe, Del Kathryn Barton (who also won it twice), Fiona Lowry, Louise Hearman and Yvette Coopersmith.
“Outrageous,” is Wendy Sharpe’s response to the statistics when Rachel visits her studio. To better understand the gender imbalance, Rachel heads to Canberra to the Know My Name exhibition, which includes two Archibald winners – Nora Heysen and Yvette Coppersmith.
It’s not just about the patriarchy, the curator explains; it’s also about the gatekeepers. So Rachel steps into the frame, literally…teaming up with Natasha Bieniek to paint her portrait for the 2021 Archibald – in a bid to try and shift the dial of this gender inequity.
In a sensitive moment as she sits with Natasha for the first time, Rachel reveals how she recently had to confront her own demons.
Rachel also heads to Arrernte country to meet the first Indigenous artist to ever win the Archibald prize. On the outskirts of Alice Springs she learns what inspires Vincent Namatjira to paint his quirky and engaging portraits.
Meanwhile, she’s still searching for one portrait and in Canberra she eyeballs her childhood hero, Nurse Bullwinkle, the sole survivor of a Japanese massacre during WWII; the 1972 winning portrait of Gough Whitlam, whose free education allowed Rachel’s mum a career; and her friend Deborah Mailman, whose 1999 portrait won the People’s Choice Award.
Again Rachel gathers her pals Dr Chris McAuliffe and Steph Tisdell to swipe through her list and help cull once again. Meanwhile, Natalie is still searching for missing portraits for her Archie 100 centenary exhibition.
There’s one she’s desperate to see – a 1980s epic of Molly Meldrum – but only has a black-and-white photo of it. Without letting on to Natalie, Rachel takes matters into her own hands.
She dials Molly’s number…
Production credit: A Mint Pictures production in association with Magdalene Media. Principal production investment from Screen Australia and the ABC. In association with Screen NSW and Film Victoria. Series Director Ariel White. Series Producer Dan Goldberg. Executive Producers Adam Kay and Rachel Griffiths. ABC Manager Factual Julia Hanna. ABC Managing Editor, Factual Richard Huddleston. Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins.
