Sir John Sulman created the Sulman Prize to enable artists such as; Elaine Haxton, Douglas Annard, Leonard French, Thea Proctor and others including Roberta, to exhibit theatre design, murals, genre and subject works. The Sulman held different conditions of entry to the Wynne and the Archibald. This award allowed Roberta the opportunity to embrace both her Painting and Design practices in her many applications.This was made obvious by her numerous entries and acceptance as a finalist as shown below in Polaroid Weird Mob, 1965.
Roberta’s most recent entry for the Sulman Prize was Flashpoint, 2013.
The diptych is typical of my work in that I aim to express the essential spirit of a subject, somewhat like a fleeting moment; a glimpse from the mind’s eye where I store visions I have seen.
Panel One: Here, I acknowledge the special mysticism of Canberra, not necessarily from nature but emanating from the constructed city and the buildings that are emblematic of the zenith of power. I live here, within the myriad of circles, roundabouts, crescents; the core being Parliament House, where power and intrigue are contained within a tangled web, yet another circle, and abstract cross. Each of these shapes has been used as symbols for both good and evil in various cultures over time.
Panel Two: In contrast, here is a wet night in the sprawling street-scape city of Canberra; a shock of bright lights, reflections, the balancing act of multi-layered colours, a radiance of spectacular and dynamic energy suspended between black holes in the darkness and damp. “Point” and “Flash”, that have emerged from my store of visual memories, derivations of much-travelled-journeys between Canberra and Sydney. These are places of poignancy with regard to the earliest and latest periods of my life. [Roberta Bell-Allen, March, 2013]
