Consisting of three large-scale hyperreal portraits, this retrospective represents the last five years of Tessa MacKay’s devotion to this demanding style of oil painting. 

These large works, meters in dimension, envelop the viewer within near abstract micro-details that come together to form the overall subject. But the pursuit of detail is not in sole mimicry of the reference photography upon which the works draw from. The works simultaneously embrace the medium of paint. Subtle but intentional instances of less-refined brushwork provides relief and reminds the viewer they are before an artwork made by human hands; an interpretation, not a reproduction.

The considerable time it takes to generate these works, often a year or more, is necessary to technically realise such detail at scale, but also forms a ritual-like, meditative practice that feeds a free-forming interpretive journey. In doing so, this lengthy transposing of the subject – from reference photography to oil paint on linen or canvas – becomes intuitive and non-intellectualised. Although the subjects are not of a religious context, the drawn out and repetitive labour involved is devotional-like, in the hope of imbuing the finished works with a degree of awe, felt by the viewer.

These three works have seen Tessa experiment and refine her technical ability to render the various elements within her compositions, be it the translucence of human skin, fibres of cloth or the reflections in glass and metallic geometry. This again speaks to a duality; the requirement for a near scientific familiarity with the medium of paint and its chemical behaviours but navigated instinctually, as a kind of alchemy, earned over time.

Photography undeniably forms a key part of the process, yet often remains excluded by hyperrealists in the discussion of a finished work. Not so here. Within this retrospective is an evolution in the methods for capturing foundational reference material.

Tessa’s 2017 portrait of Trevor Jamieson was based on a photo she took within a spontaneous and brief window of opportunity amidst the filming of a Foxtel Arts documentary. By contrast, the sitting with David Wenham was highly orchestrated. The predetermined concept required a very specific location, lighting conditions and technically proficient photographer whom Tessa directed as if shooting a scene in a movie. Comparatively, having built a relationship with the Bahnar community in Vietnam’s central highlands, yet feeling limited by her inevitable western ‘outsider’ viewpoint, Tessa sought a more open collaboration with a local Bahnar photographer, encouraging them to capture a subject in their village, however they chose to.

Although these works are separate and do not represent the continuation of a specific theme, they are nonetheless linked by an intent. At a time when images of faces are more ubiquitous and disposable than ever before, it is through the apparent labour and time involved that Tessa strives to facilitate the viewer's connection with the subject and their world, even if it is, itself, only fleeting.

Film credit: Dominic Pearce

Image credit: Henry Whitehead, Lucida Studio 

Lighting: Matt Bairstow