Next Witness: Paintings from the Supreme Court of Queensland

Abstract

'Next Witness' was Fragar's second major research project based on legal trials at the Supreme Court of Queensland. This series, in contrast to earlier research, focused on the aesthetics of the judicial process; the judge, jury and media for example. First exhibited at Sarah Cottier Gallery in Sydney, these paintings were later exhibited at the Supreme Court of Queensland Library in a solo exhibition curated by Griffith University Art Museum Director, Angela Goddard. The exhibition was opened by Griffith University Vice-Chancellor Carolyn Evans, was accompanied by a catalogue (link included in output submission), as well as a panel discussion with members of the academic and professional legal communities.

The research has received significant support from both visual arts and legal communities. In his essay on Next Witness, Supreme Court Justice Thomas Bradley noted that my work offered new perspectives on the judicial process, writing: ‘Fragar’s paintings present an opportunity to reflect on the trial process. There are lessons for those who take a direct part but also for those who deploy their creative talents to write, report, imagine and tell stories about the grittier and more fragile aspects of our human existence’ (Bradley, 2019). Supreme Court Justice Deborah Mullins AO, in conversation at the opening event also noted that the The Gatekeeper: Portrait of an Honorable Justice (2018) constituted an insightful and affective portrayal of trial from a judge’s perspective, acquiring the work to hang permanently in her chambers. Law and Aesthetics researchers Dr Karen Crawley (Griffith Law) and Prof. Kieran Tranter (QUT) commended the work in a twenty-six page article in the International Journal on Semiotics of Law for its role as ‘corrective and critique to the business as usual of processing, judging and stamping onto human lives that is legal insider’s performance in the criminal trial’ (Crawley and Tranter, 2019).