Kerry McInnis

Kerry McInnis’s subject is Savanhdary Vongpoothorn, a Lao–Australian painter and installation artist known for her perforated canvases and intimate works on paper.

Arriving in Australia with her parents when she was seven, Vongpoothorn draws on Lao cultural references, interwoven with Australian and other cultural influences. Spiritual references are important to her, especially Lao-Pali texts and concepts from Theravada Buddhism, while motifs and symbols from traditional Lao textile weaving are also intrinsic to her practice.

‘I have long admired the integrity and execution of Savanhdary’s oeuvre, appreciating the complexity of the intercultural connections it illuminates,’ says McInnis, a two-time Archibald finalist based in Bungendore, regional NSW.

‘I approached Savanhdary about sitting for a portrait, which led to us meeting on several occasions. I decided to make her central to the composition, holding a favourite textile, with a reference to her work genre in the background. This required a detailed discussion about her technique, and various trials on my part to represent the background painting as an idea, rather than attempting to copy one of Savanhdary’s own beautiful abstractions.’