When Frank sees something, he must have it. So when he finally has the opportunity to own a painting by Peter Booth, he is willing to do anything to get it. However, he is not the only one consumed by the desire to possess.

Sold for $100k at Deutsche Hackett auction house in a first for art dealing and film distribution

Peter Booth

In the arena of Australian art, Peter Booth is a giant. One of the few Australian artists represented in the three major New York collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Museum, Booth is widely considered to be the most important contemporary artist working in Australia today.

In a career that has included representing Australia at the Venice Biennale (1982), inclusion in all important surveys of Australian 20th century art such as; Creating Australia: 200 years of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia; Federation : Australian art and society 1901–2001, National Gallery of Australia; and culminating in the major 2003 retrospective exhibition, Peter Booth: human/nature, National Gallery of Victoria, Peter Booth has contributed enormously to the rich visual culture of Australia.

From his early, dark, minimalist abstractions with which he gained initial notoriety in the groundbreaking 1968 exhibition The Field at the National Gallery of Victoria, through to his more recent figurative expressions, Booth creates powerful, challenging and ultimately incredibly desirable images which are keenly sought and tightly held by collectors and major institutions.

The strength and power of Painting 2004 (Man with Bandaged Head), the work on offer, is palpable. But like so many of Booth’s images, formulated over years of development, the strength lies not so much in the initial “shock”, but with the ensuing waves of other possible readings it evokes. These possibilities are further expanded by this particular figure’s appearance in earlier works, notably in the foreground of the major work in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Painting 1981, a work which has been exhibited widely in important museum exhibitions in Australia, London and Venice.¹

The tension between our first confrontation with the bandaged figure and the subsequent sensations of pathos for, even some recognition of sensitivity within, the character makes this such a successful work. And as we look upon the painting, venturing into the space behind the bandages, the focus of the work internalises: in reading the mind of the figure we are offered a portal to see within ourselves.

This notion of the mirror to one’s soul, with themes of the nature of power and frailty, desire and control, so deftly captured within Painting 2004 (Man with Bandaged Head), adds a further dimension to the history of this particular painting. Following its original acquisition at Booth’s 2005 solo exhibition at Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Sydney, the picture became the “main character” of the 2009 Trilby Beresford short film, Possession(s).

The Director

Jim Lounsbury is an award winning young director making a big impact in the Australian film industry. He wrote Possession(s) with Laurence and had essential involvement in all levels of production. Jim is currently nearing the end of development on his first feature Draftin’. Off the back of Possession(s) Jim and Laurence intend to make a feature based on the true story of Van Meegeren, a famous forger living in Post WWII Holland who was imprisoned for being a Nazi sympathiser when he sold a Vermeer, believed to be part of Goering's collection. Van Meegeren would not give the details of the party he was selling the Vermeer on behalf of, and he was arrested. As it turns out, it was a fake, painted by Van Meegeren himself, who was protecting himself in not revealing the  identity of the owner of the painting. His health failing him, he then had to prove his own guilt as a forger, by painting a fake Vermeer in the style he had developed, in order to escape dying in prison. Check out the grace productions website; www.graceproductions.com.au

imdb link

Laurence Fuller

"Laurence Fuller shines in the lead role and it is easy to see why he is a much sought after young actor. Having attended the Method School of acting in the UK, Fuller has put together an impressive acting CV in both theatre and in short films. As well as acclaimed stage performances in the likes of Madness in Valencia, Fuller has also created his own film company Oil and is truly making a name for himself across the world – he has, to date, worked in three seperate continents. He is hoping to soon add a fourth with work in the United States."- Kieron Casey

"The picture is about isolation in contemporary society. We’ve all felt that at some point, if just for a day. I was 18 at the time and had just come back from Africa expecting to find the meaning of life, but returned even more confused about humanity and how things worked. This picture spoke to me, it was like a piece of me that was missing and if it was hanging on my wall then everything would be OK… I’ve chilled out a bit since then. I sold it so I could move to the US and make more films, but I’ll probably buy it back one day as it marks such a significant time in my life." - Read the full Reel Loop interview

Laurence co-wrote the screenplay with Jim Lounsbury, executive produced the project and stars as Frank in one of his first onscreen performances.

imdb link

Max Cullen
Australian icon of stage & screen and an established sculptor, Max Cullen is a national treasure. Recent credits include X-Men Origins; Wolverine and Baz Luhrmann’s Australia. As Max is one of Australia’s leading artists crossing the boundaries between film and fine art, he was our first and only choice for the role of Paul. Laurence Fuller travelled to his artist’s studio in the Australian outback to personally deliver the script and offer him the role.

imdb link

Rhys Muldoon
Australian TV star with numerous credits including leading roles in The Secret Life of us, Lockie Leonard and an AFI nomination for his role in Grass Roots. Rhys lends an important contribution to the film as the narrator of Possession(s).

imdb link