The Percivals 2026

About the Artwork

Thomas Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man living on Larrakia land in Darwin. He is the Assistant National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia and a leading voice in the campaign for the Uluru Statement from the Heart. As a signatory, Thomas has been instrumental in advocating for a Voice to Parliament and a Makarrata Commission, travelling across Australia to build grassroots support. His children’s book, Finding Our Heart, shares the Uluru Statement with young readers through art and powerful storytelling.

Painting First Nations people is important to me, both as a way to redress the dominance of European portraiture and as a response to artists such as Percy Leason, whose portraits of First Nations people are housed in the State Library of Victoria.

About the Artist

Vicki Sullivan is an Australian contemporary Renaissance painter, recognised as an Art Renewal Center (ARC) Living Master. Based on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, she is surrounded by the natural beauty of the Southern Ocean and Port Phillip Bay. Her oil paintings are held in both public and private collections in Australia and around the world, including the State Library of NSW and the Art Renewal Center in the USA. Her work has been exhibited at prestigious venues, including the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona and Sotheby’s in New York.