Family group and two lovers

A family with bubblegum-pink skin and unsettling blue eyes gather together for a stiff family portrait. Alongside them, a modern-day Adam and Eve exchange looks in front of a rural scene.

But in this double composition, the New Zealand landscape is not portrayed as an idyllic Garden of Eden. Rather, Jeffrey Harris’ primitive figures seem tense and crowded. The baby glances uneasily at the lovers on the right, and a huddled couple look on from the background.

The busy patterns and unusual colours heighten the compelling weirdness of the work, which recalls an awkward, oversaturated family photograph.