The Histrionic Wayfarer (after Bosch)

The painting shows a man with no visible head who walks in a barren landscape. He wears explorer's clothes consisting of boots, a light suit and a pith helmet. He wears glasses and carries various objects in bags, pockets and an over-stuffed backback. Although the figure has no face, Storrier says it is a self-portrait, revealed by the clothes and equipment. The figure carries Storrier's dog Smudge and there is a paper with a drawing of Storrier's face that blows in the wind.^[1] Storrier describes it as a depiction of the artist's burdensome journey, showing himself "clothed in the tools to sustain the intrigue of a metaphysical survey".^[2]

Storrier says the origin of the painting was a desire use Hieronymus Bosch's The Wayfarer from circa 1510 as a reference. His starting point was its subject of a pilgrim making a choice between good and evil. It then evolved into a self-portrait.^[1][3]

The Histrionic Wayfarer (after Bosch) received the 2012 Archibald Prize for portraiture.^[4][5] It was the second year in a row that Storrier competed for the prize with a faceless self-portrait. He thanked his dog in his acceptance speech, saying: "I suppose you can say I have won with a portrait of a dog".^[1][6]

Storrier made a life-size bronze sculpture based on the painting which stands at the campus of Bond University.^[7]

Versions of the wayfarer character appear in several later Storrier paintings, such as Speed Dauber and The Dauber (rushing).^[8]

• List of Archibald Prize 2012 finalists