Skip to main content
Menu

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

Caroline Zilinsky and John Feitelson

Caroline Zilinsky and John Feitelson
Video: 1 minute 39 seconds

- Can you just tell us why you chose John and how the portrait came to be?

- John is a very unique character so I really wanted to capture that uniqueness. And every time we meet, he's come up with like multiple schemes and ideas and, you know, very vivid imagination. I wanted to capture his vulnerability and therefore I disrobed him for the painting.

- I'm Caroline's muse and I've met her a few years ago and we've had lots of fun together and she asked to paint my portrait. I sat down and she said, "Could you take your shirt off?" I said, "Yes." She said, "Do you wanna take your trousers off?" I said, "No." And she just did it.

- With the carpet, it's like a garden surrounding the menorah, 'cause John is Jewish. So that signifies his Jewish faith, but also like the flowering garden of all his harebrained ideas.

- Thanks for that. Yeah. But also we've often like had conversations about, you know, that we've both had the opportunity to live sort of two lives in one lifetime. So I called it "Man with Two Lives." And, yeah, the empty chair sort of represents, you know, like the jabbling of a person and you know, the opportunity, you know, to move from one to another type of being. And I think that's something we have in common that we've both talked about and experienced.

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
King Edward Terrace, Parkes
Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency