Thanks to those inescapable pieces of technology we all keep glued to our hands, taking and making portraits — of others, and of ourselves — is far from a dying art. And, it's far from a boring one as well. That was true before we all started snapping everyone we've ever met, uploading them to Instagram and playing with silly filters on SnapChat. It's true of painted pictures as well.
In Portray and Play, the QUT Art Museum steps through the wonders of the portraiture world via a series of unusual images. Highlights include photographs by major Dutch figures Hendrik Kerstens and Erwin Olaf, including the former's Lampshade and Bag pieces, as well as oil sketches of Brisbane in the '80s by Richard Dunlop, and other far-from-average items in the gallery's collection.
Running from January 6 to February 4, the exhibition also runs alongside the summer holiday program Draw It. Code It., should you have some little ones to entertain. They'll be able to get in on the self-portrait action and test out their drawing skills from 10am to 4pm from January 6 to 14.
Image: Hendrik Kerstens, Lampshade, 2008, ultrachrome print.