With an artist father, it was inevitable that Isobel Bazar would create art at a young age, although she didn’t always appreciate her father’s help.
“He tried to teach me how to do realism better, we practised drawing spoons. I didn’t want to do it, so I just didn’t,” the 11-year-old from Teven, near Ballina in northern NSW, recalls.
Isobel Bazar, aged 11, with her portrait of her Oma.Credit: Oscar Colman
Isobel is one of four winners of the 2025 Young Archie competition, the junior instalment of the prestigious Archibald Prize.
Generational experiences was a theme among the winning works, which included a vibrant depiction of a loving father, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to a resourceful grandfather, and a detailed teenage self-portrait.
Isobel’s portrait, My Hero, is of her 93-year-old great-grandmother, originally from Lithuania. The artwork was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“She was sitting at the table, and we were just like, ‘Oh can we take a photo of you to paint in the Young Archies?’” Isobel recalled.
Tasha Rogoff, with her winning portrait, “What Are You Doing With That Box?”Credit: Oscar Colman
Tasha Rogoff, from Dover Heights, painted her grandfather, who lives in South Africa, with “his three necessities”: Nutrigrain, trail mix, and laxative Osmolax.
“Nutrigrain because it’s his favourite cereal, and you can only get it in Australia. And he always comes to Australia and eats our trail mix, and then we have none left in the house. And, he just really needs his Osmolax,” the 15-year-old explained.
