Inside the Ecuadorean Embassy, an Artist Paints Epic Portraits of …

Among the few visitors permitted to see WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, hisrefuge ofthe past five years, is the artist and filmmakerGeorge Gittoes, who has been painting portraits of the controversial computer programmer-turned-whistleblower since 2014.

Most recently, Gittoes entered an ambitious seven-foot-tall diptych of Assange, painted at the embassy, intothis yearsArchibald Prize, an esteemedannual award for portraiture in Australia,handed out by theArt Gallery of New South Wales. Although Gittoesdid not win,he has gone on tosubmita second version of the portrait toAustralias $150,000Doug Moran National Portrait Prize,where the workhas reached the contests semi-finalist stage.

Theportrait sessions were mentioned in a recent New Yorkerprofile of Assange, who became a fugitive in2010 afterpublishing classified military documents leaked by army soldier Chelsea Manning(then Bradley Manning) on WikiLeaks under the title Collateral Murder.More recently, the sites activities during the 2016 election, publishing emails and documents illegally obtained from the Democratic National Committee, have come under scrutiny for possibly having originated viahacks by the Russian government.

Artist George Gittoes with his paintings, including that of Julian Assange, on the roof of the Yellow House art center in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Courtesy of the artist.

Assange first invited Gittoes, a fellow Australian, to visit the embassy in 2014. The artist initially worried thatany association with Assangecould inhibithis ability to work in war-torn countries. Arecipient of the 2015 Sydney Peace Prize, Gittoes runs theYellow Houseart centerin his current home of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, with his wife, Hellen Rose. (Gittoes also co-foundedthehistoric Sydney gallery and art collectiveof the same name in 1970.)Being linked to Julian when Im about to step back into the front line could be lethal, he wrote in his recently published autobiography,Blood Mystic.

Nevertheless, the artist accepted the invitation because, he said, I never question destiny. Gittoes brought his art supplies with him, and soon was hard at work on what would become the first ina series of portraits.

The recent diptych is meant to depict Assanges willingness to take risks, and to live as a true edgewalkerAssanges wordshowing him gazing over the edge of a mirrored precipice. The second panel repeats Assanges face over and over, as if seen on computer screens, in a commentary on the contradiction of his simultaneous digital omnipresence and physical containment.

George Gittoess painting of Julian Assange, painted at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Courtesy of the artist.

Painting the work was a challenge under the circumstances.I thought that it could annoy the embassy staff to take oil paints, with their smell of turpentine, into such a small and un-ventilated space, Gittoes wrotein an email to artnet News. Not wanting to make Julians tenancy any more difficult, he used gesso insteadnot his typical medium.

The artists 2017 Archibald bid, along with that of seven other competitors, is the subject of a four-part Australian documentary seriesThe Archibald, from Mint Pictures. (Like any good reality show, each star gets an introductory catchphrase. Gittoess is I dont think theres anyone youd ever want to paint that youd take a bullet forbut Id take one for Julian.)

Artist George Gittoes with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Courtesy of the artist.

The production limited some of Gittoessplans for the painting. Originally, he planned to take the work with him to Afghanistan, where he would incorporate oil paint into it. The film company lawyers were not prepared to take the risk of the painting being lost or damaged in transit to and from Afghanistanalso, of me being killed, he recalled.

Butit was thematically and conceptually important to both the artist and the subject to finish the piecein Afghanistan, so Gittoes went on to repainta near duplicate version of it on the roof of the Yellow House in Jalalabad, which is in the flight path of US combat helicopters and unmanned drones, he said.

Someone must have told the US intelligence that I was there doing the painting and so helicopters began hovering over our rooftop while the crews took photos of the large face and figure of Julian as it emerged on canvas, Gittoes added.I imagined Julian would like this story as it meant that crews like the ones who had done the callus and undisciplined shooting in Iraq [disclosed in WikiLeakss Collateral Murder leak] were now seeing the portrait.

George Gittoess second painting of Julian Assange, painted on the roof at the Yellow House art center in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Courtesy of the artist.

Asked to choose a favorite between the two versions of the composition, Gittoes demurred: Both have special qualitiesone for being painted from life with Julian and the other for being painted in an active war zone.

Back in London, there was much talk of how the artists sessions with Assange would be portrayed in the television series. There cannot be an image of Julian Assange looking at himself in a painting. Thats madnessabsolute madness, Assange insisted in theNew Yorker. He also refused to compliment the work, claiming that would be vain.

Gittoes seemedsurprised that the Archibalds 11-person board of trustees did not select his portrait of Assange as one of the 104 finalists (from 822 entries).I have been hung many times in the Archibald, so it is very unusual for the portrait not to be hung, said Gittoes, who was previously a finalist in 1997, 1995, 1994, 1993, and 1991/92. This is my second attempt to get a portrait of Julian hung in the Archibald. The first version, a couple of years ago, was also rejected.

Artist George Gittoes with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Courtesy of the artist.

The gallery is not privy to the reason why Georges work was not selected this year, a spokeswoman for the Art Gallery of New South Wales told artnet News in an email. George is well known in Australia for his socially engaged and highly political paintings, drawings, prints, and film works, made since the late 1960s. His work is held in the gallerys permanent collection and works we have demonstrate his political engagement.

Artist George Gittoes with Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. Courtesy of the artist.

Gittoes readily acknowledges that theres a legitimate reason that Assange is such a polarizing figure. The reason why I support Julian and see him as an inspiration is very simple, he told the New Yorker. He proves that one individual can still stand up against the powers we all feel oppressed by.

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Inside the Ecuadorean Embassy, an Artist Paints Epic Portraits of ...