The Percivals 2026

About the Artwork

The last gig encapsulates a lifetime of work. The sitter is posed as a clown but in fact he is a performer of many kinds. The sitter is my husband and has spent his whole life meeting the demands of others, in a sense ‘performing’ for those around him. The years have passed and he doesn’t feel as though he has achieved much. His family would beg to differ. The artwork shows someone who is tired of performing; the last gig is one that is perhaps relished but is also a laborious task that needs to be completed. Like so much in our lives, we get to a point where we can’t be bothered any more. The passion has gone.

About the Artist

Carla Gottgens is a photographer and multidisciplinary artist based in Victoria. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW, and a Master of Arts (Photography) at RMIT. Her public artwork has won major awards, including the Ephemera Acquisitive Prize (2023), Lorne Sculpture Small Works Prize (2018), Toorak Village Traders Prize (2016), and Sculpture on the Greens (2015).

Her sculptural works have been commissioned by Lane Cove Council, Shellharbour Council, NSW Health for Griffith Base Hospital, Cardinia Shire Council, Bayside Council, University of Tasmania, among others. Her photographic work has been chosen for exhibition and for commissioned works by Sculpture by the Sea, Metro Tunnels Creative Program: Melbourne, Home 25: Invisible Cities, Coogee Chemicals Kwinana, Canada Bay Placemaking, Stockland Shellharbour, Brimbank Council and others.