Multidisciplinary artist Lisa Reid often uses preexisting source material as a starting point for her work, in particular the ephemera of the music world. Her 2004 portrait of Australian musician and actor Jason Donovan (b. 1968) is a dynamic reinterpretation of the cover for his 1989 number one single ‘Sealed with a Kiss’. He gained international fame for his role in the soap opera Neighbours, starring opposite his on-and-offscreen sweetheart Kylie Minogue from 1986–88. Donovan transitioned to a successful music career in 1988, achieving 17 hit singles in the UK and selling over three million records. He is also known for his stage musical roles, notably in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The original cover art for Donovan’s single features the leather jacket-clad heartthrob set against a romantic beachside background at dusk. In this portrait, Reid has flattened the image, breaking the composition into dense planes of colour using bold and graphic gouache. Reflecting her distinct interpretation of the world around her, Reid’s slightly abstracted artworks are free from the restrictions of purely representational forms. Reid works out of Arts Projects, Melbourne, a creative social enterprise that supports artists with intellectual disabilities.
Purchased 2025
© Lisa Reid
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