Guy Maestri-Archibald Prize 2009

Indigenous singer Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is the subject of this years Archibald, by Guy Maestri.

Born blind, Yunupingu has captivated audiences over the last year with his haunting voice and album, Gurrumul, sung in his native Yolngu language. He was recently the recipient of two coveted ARIA Awards and was named the 2008 NT Australian of the Year.

Guy Maestri saw Gurrumul live on New Years Eve last year and says it was truly, an unforgettable experience. "Word had been going around all day and the rumours were true - people really were moved to tears. So it seems right that he should choose the singer as the of a portrait.

When Maestri managed to track Gurrumul down in through the assistance of friend in the music industry, it was to discover he was flying out to New York the following weekend. He was offered 40 minutes to meet with him early one Saturday morning at Sydney airport, which he naturally leapt at, taking a series of sketches to be used for the final piece and capturing the essence of the artist with astounding effect.

Maestri was born in Mudgee, NSW in 1974, and completed his Bachelor of Fine Art (Hons) in painting at the National Art School, Darlinghurst in 2003. He has had solo exhibitions at the Tim Olsen Gallery and was a finalist in the 2007 and 2008 Dobell Drawing Prize.