John Citizen, Interior (Corio Suite) 2005. Acrylic on linen. 152 x 152 x 3cm
This painting is almost human in scale. It depicts a domestic interior which is minimally decorated with modernist furniture. The room is crowded with a brightly coloured three-piece lounge set, made up of a two-seater couch and two recliners. There is a large black rug on the ground which is covered in simple white illustrations of bare feet or footprints.
There are two large artworks hanging on the wall behind the two-seater couch. The work on the right shows two people from the waist up, they are dressed casually and are smiling, and their faces are coloured in different colours. The figure on the right has shoulder length blonde hair and is holding a wine glass. The other figure is tall and bald with glasses and leans in as if for a casual photograph. The painting is a reference to the artist’s other painting, Coloured People, the title of which pokes fun at the ways that Aboriginal people are depicted in Western or mainstream media.
The other artwork on the wall is a modernist style minimalist painting with a series of coloured, intersecting lines in green, red and black. The title of Corio Suite implies that the painting depicts a living room in the suburb of Corio, in Geelong.