We had some questions about the Jacob Elordi portrait. The artist answered

Zilinsky noticed that Elordi was reading a copy of Albert Camus’ 1942 The Myth of Sisyphus – a philosophical essay that draws on a figure from Greek mythology destined to push a boulder up a hill for eternity – and the pair talked about literature.

The book became central to Zilinsky’s portrait, A Lucid Heart – The Golden Age of Jacob Elordi, which takes its title from a phrase Camus uses.

The boulder from the myth is transformed into a stone in Elordi’s hands, and the book lies open on a shelf in the background alongside an airbrush machine, a dog tag prop, a make-up box, power generator, and a camera that Elordi’s sister used to film the sitting. Zilinsky found a horseshoe on a stone while on the set, and the shape also features.

When she arrived home, she discovered a leech on her leg, and the bloodsuckers form a frame around Elordi in the painting. And whose idea was it for him to pose topless?

“He had a shirt on, and he said, ‘do you want it on or off?’ and I said, ‘off’ – I’m not missing that,” Zilinsky jokes, before adding, “the more a person disrobes for a painting, the more vulnerable a person becomes.”

Zilinsky said the make-up trailer provided a transitory space between reality and imagination, where Elordi moved from man to character. In the portrait, he is encircled by shadowy figures, a reference to the elusiveness of mass audiences.

They became a little less elusive when Zilinsky’s portrait was unveiled and Elordi shared it on Instagram with his nearly 14 million followers, dividing fans whose responses ranging from, “Idk what this is but I love you” to “pov the picture you pull up to show your friends who you’re talking about and have to say ‘chill he’s better looking in person i swear!’” . Tabloids around the world also got in the action, including the UK Metro which ran with the headline “Oh Lordi! Is it really you?”

Zilinsky’s gallery’s website crashed from the traffic and close to 800,000 people looked at her Instagram. “It’s been insane. I had to sleep for a whole day straight. I don’t know what to do. I wanted to throw my phone out the window because I’m not big on social media,” Zilinsky said.

Usually sensitive to criticism of her work, Zilinsky said she appreciated that the portrait had connected with people who wouldn’t otherwise be interested in art. Her main goal, she said, was to capture Elordi’s essence as she perceived it, and for him to see himself in his work. Zilinsky said she still hadn’t seen any of his films or TV shows, and she probably wouldn’t, happy for the Elordi of her imagination to remain the only one she knows.

As for Elordi, he loved the work and now owns it. His response after seeing it for the first time? “Let’s hope that the rock stays that size.”

The Archibald, Wynne & Sulman Prizes 2024 are at the Art Gallery of NSW until September 8.