Philjames

Lives and works in Sydney, NSW

Artist's CV

Represented by nanda\hobbs

Philjames is a Sydney-based artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture and drawing. His work is characterised by a distinctive process: carefully reworking vintage paintings and prints by inserting figures from mid-20th century animation, most often characters from the worlds of Disney and Looney Tunes. These surreal juxtapositions, rendered with the precision of a conservator, both disrupt and reanimate the original artworks. While his imagery often draws on humour and nostalgia, the results are far from frivolous; the playful surface conceals deeper tensions about time, belief systems and the blurred lines between high and low culture.

Over the past decade, Philjames has developed a growing reputation for his ability to blend satire with sincerity, creating works that reflect on history, popular media and the anxiety that simmers beneath social order. His recent series Pleasure Island marked a significant evolution in his practice, moving away from the readymade and instead constructing vivid, imagined worlds directly onto canvas. He has exhibited widely at institutions and commercial galleries across Australia, and has collaborated with notable artists such as Polly Borland and Robert Malherbe. His work frequently appears as a finalist in major national prizes including the Sulman, Blake, and Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship.

Philjames studied Fine Art at the National Art School, where he received early recognition for his printmaking. His work is held in numerous private and public collections, including Artbank and BlueScope Steel. In 2024, he drew national attention for a controversial Blake Prize work that reimagined a biblical scene using cartoon characters; a moment that sparked public debate and cemented his position as an artist unafraid to provoke. Though his aesthetic may initially disarm with its comic familiarity, Philjames’s practice ultimately asks urgent questions about belief, authorship and the cultural images we inherit.

\ Artworks

Born Toulouse MK1

2025 \ Oil on canvas, synthetic polymer on handmade papier maché frame \ 94 x 79cm

Born Toulouse MK2

2025 \ Oil on canvas, synthetic polymer on handmade papier maché frame \ 50 x 40cm

Log Portrait Orange

2024 \ Ink on Arches paper, 350gsm \ 76 x 57cm

Log Portrait Sepia

2024 \ Ink on Arches paper, 350gsm \ 76 x 57cm

Oh boy (Cosmic Rainbow MK1)

2025 \ Oil on canvas \ 182 x 152cm

Oh boy (Skin n Bone MK2)

2025 \ Oio on canvas \ 182 x 152cm

Pleasure #2 (large)

2022 \ Oil on canvas \ 168 x 152cm

Spun Idol

2019 \ Machined polyutherane, automotive spray \ 110 x 60cm

Still Life (Radical Survival MK2)

2025 \ Oil on canvas \ 107.5 x 88.5cm

Still life (Radical Survival MK1)

2025 \ Oil on linen \ 76.5 x 61.5cm

Street madonna

2022 \ Oil on vintage offset lithograph \ 40 x 82cm

Contact Us

to find out more about Philjames.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Easter 2025: The gallery will closed from 18 - 21 April Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)