Archibald finalist Thom Roberts launches first solo exhibition at National Portrait Gallery

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The first solo exhibition of Australian artist Thom Roberts is now on display at the National Portrait Gallery. Roberts lives with an intellectual disability and is autistic. The exhibit features more than 100 works of his distinctive style.

Transcript

00:00It's said that artists see the world differently.

00:05For Tom Roberts, his art is also the way he navigates and interacts with the world around him.

00:11I am thinking.

00:14Creative and humorous, his art is also distinctive.

00:18His portraits, completed in self-described Tom style,

00:22show his subjects with extra sets of eyes and piano teeth.

00:26And people are depicted as buildings and trains, including himself.

00:31Me and Andrew are both country express service.

00:40I used to be the Burr's Khalifa Tower in Dubai.

00:46When Roberts meets someone, he'll usually give them a nickname.

00:49When I first met Tom, he gave me the name Neemish Cake,

00:53and that is a name that I wear with honour.

00:55This 2024 Archibald finalist is of Australian artist Ken Doan,

01:00renamed by Roberts as Big Bam Bam.

01:03And that act of renaming extends to places.

01:06So Canberra is Chicago City, and the National Portrait Gallery is the Bookshop.

01:10So this way of reassigning identity is a way of mapping the world.

01:15This interactive part of the exhibit features a playable ping pong table.

01:20The work is about the experience of being in a law court.

01:23The portrait gallery also commissioned a new work from Roberts,

01:26this self-portrait, which is the first piece visitors encounter.

01:30Next to Tom we see the sun, and it is the same size as him.

01:34So this is a portrait that positions Tom as the centre of the universe,

01:38that positions this as his world, and it is larger than life.

01:42To have a solo show at a national institution is massive for any artist,

01:46even more so for an artist who lives with a disability.

01:50Happy and proud and great job I did.

01:56The immersive world of Tom Roberts runs until July.

02:00so this is the final part of the Fen b样.

02:05Thank you for joining us today, thanks to the

02:06visit B bilingual unwirures and sponsors.

02:10To check for four twenty-four gifts we have also found...

02:12nice, thank you for all.

02:14Remember this time a little bit on Rob.

02:15There is always seeing this here,

02:16as a philosopher that was skating,

02:19Tap that to his soul,

02:21and he reading through the course of aseguration

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