ARCHIBALD FINALIST 2026!

I'M AN ARCHIBALD FINALIST! 

My portrait of Adam Hyde, aka Keli Holiday, has been selected as a finalist in the Archibald Prize 2026. Still feels insane to write that. Holy shiitttttt.

This one means a lot. I’m incredibly proud to have this work hanging at the Art Gallery of NSW. It’s been one of those dream in the back of my head for years, then suddenly it’s real and it's blown my mind. 

The work is called Keep On Stingin’. 
It’s a 150 x 200cm portrait of Adam Hyde, painted in heavy-bodied acrylics and housepaints on canvas. The painting sits on a leathery black background, with every stroke handbrushed thick and directly onto the canvas. No blending. No gradients. Everything is deliberate.

The further you move away from Adam’s eyes, the less resolved the painting becomes. His shoulders and arms are left raw on purpose, pulling the focus back into the centre of the work. His eyes are the anchor. Along with that wild Medusa hair, they pull you in and hold you there.

Adam is visually striking, which is one of the many reasons I knew he would be great to paint. But this portrait was never meant to be just about how he looks.

Adam is very much part of the cultural conversation right now. He’s outspoken, open-hearted, funny, brave, and fiercely supportive of the people around him. He backs his partner, friends and family without worrying about looking too sincere, too loud, too cringe, or too much. I admire that.

I also respect him deeply as an artist. Adam is best known as one half of Peking Duk, and through his solo project Keli Holiday. His solo work has shifted into something more personal, built around love, connection and vulnerability. There’s a self-confidence I really respect in that. 

Adam and I have worked together for over a decade on Peking Duk merch and tour artwork, so when I asked him to sit for this portrait, he immediately said yes ("KEEN!" he wrote back). We caught up briefly before one of his shows for a beer and a chat, then the next time I saw him was in my Marrickville studio for the proper sitting.

While we took reference photos, we talked about pressure, relationships, life, and how he sees himself. He wore leather pants, a black singlet, and a silver scorpion necklace. When I asked about the necklace, he told me it was a gift from his girlfriend Abbie Chatfield, on a mezcal-soaked trip to Mexico. He joked that it meant “keep on stingin’,” then added “and singin’, even when the devil’s got ya swingin’.”

That stuck with me. I knew I had to include it.

The scorpion became the quiet anchor of the painting. Not as some obvious gimmick, but as a way to understand Adam’s energy. Controlled. Still. Watchful. Sharp when he needs to be.

During the sitting, my original pose had a harder expression. It felt wrong. It accidentally read as anger, so I scrapped it. Adam isn’t angry. He listens, pauses, then speaks. There’s stillness and intention there. What I wanted was intensity without aggression. A fierceness with a knowing, cheeky smirk.

That changed the painting. I made those changes directly on the canvas as it came together.

I didn’t show Adam any progress shots. No updates. No half-finished sneak peeks. He trusted me to go for it, which meant a lot. More than I expected, actually. Throughout the process, I realised I really wanted him to like it. His image is clearly important to him, and I wanted to do it properly.

When it was finished, Adam came to see it in person. That mattered. It showed excitement, respect and real involvement. The painting has a different energy in person. The scale matters. You can’t take it all in at once. Your eyes have to move around the canvas, and keep coming back to his face and eyes.

With everything going on for Adam, this felt like the right time to paint him.

Huge thanks to Adam for trusting me with this. Thank you to the Art Gallery of NSW and the Archibald Prize judges for selecting my work. And massive respect to the thousands of artists who entered. To be selected from that field is a huge honour.

The exhibition opens May 8 at the Art Gallery of NSW.

Honoured, stoked, excited and proud.

Keep on stingin’.

Photos and process content by Yeah Rad. 

For Press or Interviews about the artwork, contact Sindy Sinn directly at 
info@sindysinn.com.au