Archibald Prize 2016. Finalists. Troy by Mark Horton
Artist: Mark Horton
Title: Troy
Medium: acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 140 x 190 cm
Troy Grant is the Deputy Premier of NSW and the NSW leader of the Nationals. The member for Dubbo, he is the Minister for Justice and Police, the Minister for Racing and the Minister for the Arts.
‘Troy Grant is a complex character who wears many hats: father, husband, son, former cop, local member, political leader, government minister. I wanted to capture not only the sturdy determination that has taken him from rookie outback cop to deputy premier but also the innate vulnerability that makes him human in an increasingly scrutinised and mercurial political climate,’ says Mark Horton.
‘Troy wanted to be portrayed in a way that reflects the place closest to his heart: the wide open spaces of NSW. He is deeply connected with regional Australia but is equally at home in the upper echelons of global politics. As a rookie police detective, he led the charge against child sexual assault in the Catholic church, an investigation that had decades-long ramifications for the church and its many victims, and for Troy himself who effectively prosecuted the very faith to which he remains deeply connected. He continues to seek answers and I hope this painting also invites others to ask questions.’
Horton is a self-taught artist who has painted and drawn instinctively since childhood. This is only his second acrylic painting but by far the largest. It is his first time in the Archibald Prize.
