Carla Fletcher

‘Twin Souls, Linda Jackson’

Portrait of Australian Fashion Designer, Artist Linda Jackson

Mix Media on Linen, 1.5m x 2m

FINALIST IN THE 2016 ARCHIBALD PRIZE (AGNSW)

We really are twin souls. It doesn’t matter what I am doing, she is doing something similar. We can be miles apart from each other but we are on that path. When we come together there is something so deep. — Jenny Kee, 2016

‘This painting of Australian fashion designer Linda Jackson is the twin-soul portrait of my 2015 Archibald Prize finalist portrait of Jenny Kee,’ says Carla Fletcher.

‘Together they are magic, transcendent, creative collaborators who electrified Australia with bolts of luminous colour and dreaming. From their first meeting in the early 1970s there was an instant soul connection, a connection that remains strong.

‘Inspired by the colour and energy of the Australian landscape, Jackson crusaded a new path for Australian fashion. She explored new approaches to textiles and incorporated never-before-seen bold Australian motifs drawn from nature, including her magical neon opal prints and Sturt’s Desert Pea flowers.

Jackson and Kee sold unique, handmade one-off artisan pieces from Kee’s frock salon Flamingo Park in Sydney’s Strand Arcade to an array of buyers, from Sydney fashionistas to Princess Di and David Bowie.’