This unusual portrait of Sydney artist Jason Phu just won the 2025 Packing Room Prize
The Art Gallery of NSW has been filling up with famous faces as it gears up for the 2025 edition of Australia's favourite annual art event, the Archibald Prize for portraiture, which will open to the public next weekend. But the announcement of the so-called 'face that stops the nation' that will win the main prize will have to wait, because the winner of the much-loved Packing Room Prize has just been announced.
Abdul Abdullah has taken out the popular prize with his portrait of fellow artist and friend Jason Phu. Valued at $3000, the Packing Room Prize is awarded to the best entry in the Archibald Prize as judged by the Art Gallery staff who receive, unpack and hang the entries.
Abdullah's portrait, titled 'No mountain high enough', marks his seventh time as an Archibald finalist and was selected from 57 finalists in this year's exhibition. He has also been a finalist in the Wynne and Sulman Prizes multiple times. (Get a better look at the full painting over here.)
Alexis Wildman, senior installation officer and member of the Art Gallery's Packing Room team, says that the Packing Room Pickers were instantly drawn to Abdullah's painting. He continued: 'Both [Abdul and Jason] are accomplished artists whose works have a distinct style and engage with complex social and cultural themes using wit and cartoonish references. The team holds great respect for the way both Abdul and Jason have progressed in their careers.'
'On a technical level, this portrait is very well painted. It really captures the essence of the subject with the image of a lone ranger, an intrepid jokester or a quiet hero navigating the rocky terrain of today's social climate. This immediately sparked conversation among the Packing Room team,' said Wildman.
On receiving the news, Abdullah shared his excitement, saying that he sees the Packing Room Prize as 'a sort of community prize'. He added: 'The Packing Room team, which is made up of professional art handlers – many of whom are artists themselves – get to pick a painting they like. I am so glad they picked this one. It's kind of like an artists' pick, and I'm extra happy for that.'
Born in Perth, Abdullah is a multidisciplinary artist now based between Melbourne and Bangkok. A seventh-generation Muslim Australian of Malay, Indonesian and European heritage, his practice often investigates narratives of displacement and the reality of lived experience. His paintings often merge more traditional, hyperrealistic landscapes with cartoonish doodles in order to poke fun and make provocative commentary around the business of art and modern Australian society (like in this one that you might have spotted hanging on a wall at the Art Gallery).
Speaking about his choice of sitter, Abdullah said: 'Jason is my best friend. We talk on the phone every day, he was the best man at my wedding, and we have travelled together. I've painted him as I see him, as a ceaseless adventurer who at any one time is involved in a dozen conversations on a dozen different platforms, bringing his unique perspective to one flummoxed friend or another.'
Jason Phu is a Sydney-born artist whose practice brings together a wide range of references, from traditional ink paintings and calligraphy to readymade objects, everyday vernacular, ancient folklore, personal narratives and historical events, often imbued with satire and humour. (I'll never forget his hilarious and haunting installation at Carriageworks as part of The National in 2023, featuring a ton of crudely-rigged animatronic frogs.) Phu has also been a previous finalist in the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, and is himself a finalist in this year's Archibald Prize for his portrait of actor Hugo Weaving.
This year, the Art Gallery received 2394 entries across the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, the second-highest number of combined entries received in the history of the three prizes and eclipsed only by the 2020 record year, which was delayed due to the pandemic. The Archibald Prize itself received 904 entries, and 57 finalists were selected for exhibition. Fun fact: this year also marks the first time there are more finalist works by women artists across the three competitions.
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