Madeleine Pfull

“It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances.”
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey, 1890

First impressions are formed within seconds of meeting someone. You judge them—and just as quickly, they judge you. These impressions are determined by mannerisms, facial expressions, body language, and they can be near impossible to shake. Madeleine Pfull’s characters are no exception. Her portraits, often presented in diptychs or triptychs, capture the subtle nuances of behaviour and expression.

Pfull grew up in a quiet suburban neighbourhood in Sydney, an environment often reflected in her works. She graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 2015, mentored by artists such as Oliver Watts and Jelena Telecki, the latter introducing Pfull to oil painting, which “transformed” her work. After graduating, Pfull spent an arduous year working as an artist’s assistant—Pfull later admits that she was on the verge of giving up her dream of becoming a full-time artist. As fate would have it, two weeks later, Nino Mier Gallery reached out via Instagram, after discovering Pfull’s page that detailed her art journey (@mrpfull), and offered to fly the artist and her paintings to the United States. Pfull spent six years working with Nino Mier Gallery and living between Los Angeles, London, Colonge, and Toronto before returning to Sydney.

As Pfull and I sit in her Earlwood studio, I can’t help but feel watched. Dozens of eyes drill into the back of my head as I try to focus on our conversation. Pfull notices my unease and laughs, “It’s a room full of me looking at me.”

Pfull’s process is immersive, a combination of traditional oil painting and performance. The paintings begin with a narrative, imagined or inspired by literature and films; the artist candidly adds, “Sometimes I just paint what I think would be funny.” From there, Pfull hits the op-shops, searching for clothing from the 1980s, as kitschy and gaudy as possible, building characters in her mind as she goes. And now, the performance element begins. Pfull dresses up in her thrifted clothes, dons a wig (carefully selected from an overflowing box of every length, colour, and texture), ages herself with makeup and poses for the camera. Whilst the paintings are technically self-portraits, they are not autobiographical. Pfull explains, “It’s easier to use myself, I don’t have to worry about offending anyone or relying on others to accurately depict what I want . . . I also love the character building and acting element of the process.”

These diptychs, triptychs and, more recently, hexaptychs, see Tartan 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, 2024, explore micro mannerisms through subtle changes in the paintings. The characters shift very slightly between works, creating an animated effect for the viewers—similar to that of a comic strip or a film reel. They encourage a slower, more observed way of looking. Pfull explains that her hope is for the audience to deduce elements of the characters’ identity through these subtle behaviours, encouraged by the laconic titles of the paintings. In Three Sisters, 2021, viewers are prompted by the title to speculate on who the eldest, middle, and youngest may be. I see the elder sister as the woman on the left, with a slight sense of disdain in her eyes as she looks down her nose, however her relaxed pose confirms that she has control of the situation. The middle sister stands behind the eldest with a hand on her hip and lips pursed. This flippant demeanour implies that she is the fastest of the three to judge. The youngest sits somewhat meekly with respect to her siblings, with feet held awkwardly together and slightly slumped shoulders. She is guarded by her sisters, but is in no way reliant on them. There is no correct answer to the question Pfull poses, as first impressions are rarely genuine—it is human nature to project your own experiences onto others.

Pfull’s influences are varied. I see evidence of Edward Hopper, John Currin, and Eagon Schiele, but also elements of satirical pop culture such as Monty Python and Kath & Kim. Yet Pfull’s oeuvre is entirely her own, a carefully curated world of women whose sense of self and security is palpable.

By painting scenes set in the 1980s, Pfull, born in 1993, is removed from the women, fabricating an alternate universe that is familiar, yet disconnected—an uncanny experience of us and not us. With this temporal distance, Pfull’s commentary on society becomes implicit, more digestible. There is a sense of intimacy in the paintings, a push and pull between the past and present. The women are typically middle aged, and often portrayed in moments of mundane heroism. They are content in their everyday, with exaggerated features and kitschy aesthetics that serve as a commentary on the absurdity of social conventions.

Pfull’s women, and Pfull herself, navigate their lives with a mix of humour and resilience. In July of this year, Pfull presented her fourth solo exhibition, Disturbances, with Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney. Experimenting with the subject of horror, Pfull created an arresting atmosphere with smoke and eerie music creeping through the gallery—the rooms were electrified. In Spooky 1, 2, and 3, 2024, Pfull employs chiaroscuro to illustrate the act of telling a scary story with the light under your chin. The audience’s fear is fostered in anticipation.

Following the success of Disturbances, Pfull will present new works with Chalk Horse at Sydney Contemporary. When Adam knew nothing, 1 and 2, 2024, feature soft feminine women who are reminiscent of pre-Raphaelite women, with just a touch of Australian icons Kath & Kim.

In our fast-paced, prestige driven world, Madeleine Pfull’s paintings offer an opportunity to stop and reflect upon the serenity and worth that often goes unnoticed within the everyday.

This article was originally published in issue 68, Artist Profile

EXHIBITION
Sydney Contemporary: Chalk Horse Booth
5 – 8 September 2024
Carriageworks, Sydney