Boyd's ghost

David Boyd, The Dancing Judge (from Savill Galleries)

One of my bosses at the workplace I was at for the past few months is a prominent individual who was a judge in our state's top courts. He also chaired a special inquiry into police corruption that went for years, was instant fodder for the media and cost taxpayers millions.

Today, when I had morning tea in his office, I noticed a painting in the corner. After asking him to confirm my suspicions that the painter was Arthur Boyd, he revealed that it was commissioned his wife in 1997, two years before Boyd's death and right after the special inquiry into police corruption. This painting, he said, was intended to take its place beside brother David Boyd's Separating Masks series.

The painting depicted a judge hiding beneath a mask. The connection to its instant context was unmistakeable.

Having studied Boyd for a year, having gone to his residency for a week, this find was remarkable — Boyd's ghost still haunts.