1:22 AM
Sophie Freshwater
1:22 AM [detail] 2024
Portrait of David Slater
Watercolor, gouache and acrylic
76 x 56 cm
About the Artwork
The sitter is my partner David, a long-standing ER nurse in one of Australia’s major hospitals. His work is essential to the fabric of our community, yet it unfolds largely out of sight, in the charged quiet of emergency rooms and the long corridors of night shift. This portrait is an attempt to honour that unseen labour—the resilience, vigilance, and quiet endurance—that accumulates over years of caring for others.
David rarely speaks about the toll his work takes. He carries it with a kind of steady humility, never complaining, never seeking recognition. But it lingers in the subtle language of his expression, the softened posture after a run of night shifts, the weight behind his gaze, the fatigue that never fully dissipates. In painting him, I wanted to make visible what is so often invisible: the emotional imprint of service, compassion, and unspoken sacrifice.
About the Artist
Sophie Freshwater is a Naarm/Melbourne-based artist working across portraiture and representational art. After graduating from Victoria College Prahran, she spent several years as a graphic designer before returning to fine art in 2019. Working in oils, watercolour, and drawing, she creates portraits that tell quiet human stories and foster an emotional connection between sitter and viewer. Her practice often juxtaposes unexpected objects and symbols to highlight social and environmental concerns. Alongside her portraiture, she has developed a series centred on endangered Australian bird species, reflecting a growing national urgency around biodiversity loss. Sophie also advocates for the welfare of domesticated animals, including dogs, that enter refuge care.
She has been a finalist in national art prizes, including the Portia Geach, the Smallacombe Portrait Prize, the Art Edit self-represented artist prize, and a semifinalist in the Moran Prize. Her first solo exhibition, held recently at Mario’s in Fitzroy, sold out.