Megan Hales (Class 2007) uses iconography to explore our social values, ideals and sense of humour

In 2020 we shared that Megan Hales was a finalist for the Darling Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery and it is wonderful, three years on to share more of her wonderful work!

Rendering the familiar and famous to absurd extremes, Sydney-based visual artist Megan Hales uses iconography to explore our social values, ideals and senses of humour. Having moved through sculpture, installation and video Megan is primarily a painter, using a bold palette and traditional brush painting skills to hyper-animate her visual narratives, most often centring with portraiture. Dedicated to detail and a carnivalesque treatment at large, Megan takes inspiration from pop culture, cognitive dissonance in the marketplace and the colourful chaos of everyday life.

In her years to date painting murals and signwriting Megan has worked with clients including Bacardi, Instagram and most recently in 2021 – a towering ten-meter caricature of Prime Minister Scott Morrison for GetUp! Australia, responding to setbacks faced by the media under the current Coalition government.

Recent exhibitions include the 2020 Sedition Art Trail in Sydney, the Darling Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and The Alice Prize at Aruluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. Collaborative accolades include The Bottles sculptures – which squirted and showered beach-goers on Bondi Beach – winning the Kids Choice Award at Sculpture by the Sea 2015, and Four Horses, a multimedia exhibition at Duckrabbit Gallery Sydney in 2019.