Mostafa Azimitabar is an artist who entered his first self-portrait into the on Thursday.
He’s also a Kurdish refugee who was detained on Manus Island for eight years after coming to Australia in 2013.
Wanting to occupy his days and with no access to any art supplies in detention, he learned how to paint with nothing but a toothbrush, coffee, and pieces of paper.
Mr Azimitabar said: “Everything on Manus was chaotic. There were lots of tortures, lots of punishment, fences around us, officers, noise of radios; I wanted to be away from that kind of sadness, I decided to be positive and create something that helps me to find my tranquillity.
"Art was a part of my resistance in detention, and I became friends with art.
"Now I continue painting with toothbrushes. When I use toothbrushes, I feel much better, I feel I have found my own style."
He said slowly over time he “learned how to paint properly” and now works as an artist based out of Sydney.
“This is the first time I paint a self-portrait. When I got free [from detention], I started painting on canvas and I use acrylic paint. So this [painting] has acrylic paint as well,” the former asylum seeker said.
Art was a part of my resistance in detention, and I became friends with art.Mostafa Azimitibar
Reflecting on his Archibald Prize entry, Mr Azimitabar said he could see his sadness but also his strength and resilience.
“I wanted to paint the suffering of myself in detention… and also not to show that this person is a victim - to show that this person is fighting.”
Fellow Kurdish refugee and artist Farhard Bandesh said though he was only able to get his hands on a small number of art materials while at Manus Island, he still managed to paint 100 artworks in detention.
“Arts for me is something beautiful. You can send message and tell the story by your artwork and I believe art has the power to change many things,” Mr Bandesh said.
Mr Bandesh's self-portrait was painted in northern NSW studio of six-time Archibald Prize finalist Angus McDonald, who said he absolutely loves watching the two artists make portraits in his space.
“It’s been a fantastic experience… These self-portraits are very, very powerful sort of stories they're telling about their experience of seeking asylum, being in detention, and now freedom,” Mr McDonald said.
The Archibald Prize’s head packer Brett Cuthbertson said in his 40 years of working with The Art Gallery of New South Wales, he’s never seen anyone work with a toothbrush and coffee.
“It’s a new one on me…using coffee is genius.”
Over 1,700 entries have been submitted for this year’s Archibald Prize, with the winner to be announced on 13 May.
