By Dee Jefferson
New Zealand-born artist Claus Stangl's painting of Aotearoa New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian Taika Waititi has won the Archibald Prize's Packing Room Prize - kicking off 'Archies season' in Sydney.
Artist Claus Stangl's painting of filmmaker, actor and comedian Taika Waititi Photo: Supplied / AGNSW Media
It is Stangl's second time as an Archibald finalist, having previously been selected in 2020 for his portrait of Sydney hip-hop artist L-FRESH The LION.
The painter said "he couldn't believe it" when Waititi agreed to sit for him, having sent him a detailed "treatment" of ideas for the portrait while he was shooting the forthcoming Marvel blockbuster Thor: Love and Thunder.
"I've admired his work for so many years," he said, dating back to watching Waititi's film Boy in 2010.
Stangl's portrait of Waititi is one of 52 finalists in one of Australia's longest-running and richest awards, with a prize pool of $100,000.
Announcing the winner of the Packing Room Prize, Head Packer Brett Cuthbertson, who has the deciding vote, said Waititi had a "vision and a twisted sense of humour that we all need right now" in a "world full of war and Covid - it's pretty miserable at times".
He also announced that 2022 is his last year in the role, as he is retiring after 41 years.
- ABC