J A M I EÂ Â C O L E
Jamie Cole is an Australian urban-pop and pop-surrealist artist based in Far North Queensland. His practice blends bold graphic linework, saturated colour and camp humour with sharp cultural critique, exploring queer identity and the contradictions of contemporary Australia.
Drawing on pop iconography, retro advertising, animation and the lush visual language of the tropics, Cole creates vibrant artworks that fuse personal narrative with social observation. His work is unapologetically colourful, emotionally layered and often playful — using irony and wit to invite deeper conversations about visibility, power and belonging.
Through acrylic, aerosol, collage and mixed media, Cole interrogates themes of resilience, reinvention and queer visibility within the geographical, psychological and political landscapes that shape lived experience in Australia. His paintings move fluidly between celebration and satire, balancing emotional depth with a distinctly pop sensibility.
Cole has exhibited widely across Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT. He has been selected as a finalist in major national art prizes, including the Percival Portrait Prize, the National Contemporary Art Prize and the Fisher’s Ghost Art Award.
Positioned at the intersection of pop art, queer storytelling and contemporary Australian culture, Jamie Cole’s work uses colour, symbolism and humour to challenge norms, reclaim visibility and imagine new futures.
Selected Awards & Recognitions
2026 – Percival Animal Portrait Prize, Finalist
2026 – Percival Photographic Portrait Prize, Finalist
2025 – Fisher’s Ghost Art Award (Contemporary), Finalist
2024 – National Contemporary Art Prize (Sustainability), Finalist
2024 – Percival Portrait Painting Prize, FinalistÂ
Exhibitions in Public Galleries & Art Institutions
2026
The Percivals, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, QLD
Flame Visual Programme, Mentor & Feature Artist, Cairns Regional Council
2025
Garden of Tropical Delights, Dual Exhibition, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns
Cairns Pride Art Exhibition, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns
Fisher’s Ghost Art Awards, Finalist, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney
Fever Dreams, Featured Artist Cairns Festival, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns
Flame Visual Programme, Mentor & Feature Artist, Cairns Regional Council
2024
Kaleidoscope 3, Belco Arts, Canberra
Cairns Pride Art Exhibition (Curator & Featured Artist), Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns
National Contemporary Art Prize, Finalist, Aarwun Gallery, Canberra
Percival Portrait Painting Prize, Finalist, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville
2023
Welcome to Paradise, Solo Exhibition, NorthSite Contemporary Arts, Cairns
Cairns Pride Art Exhibition, Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns
2021 – IAVA 10th Anniversary, Clifton School of Arts, Clifton NSW
2018
Locals on Board, Wollongong Regional Art Gallery, Wollongong
Wollongong Queer Arts Festival (Featured Artist), Project Contemporary, Wollongong
2013 – Gold! Invitation Group Show, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
2012 – Once Upon a Canvas, Fundraising Exhibition, Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick
Exhibitions in Commercial Galleries
2026
Annual bentART Exhibition, Rex Livingston Art + Objects, Katoomba NSW
Small Works Art Prize Exhibition, Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
2025 – Reef City Exhibition & Fashion Parade, Crate 59 Gallery, Cairns
2024 – Wish You Were Here, Crate 59 Gallery, Cairns
2022 – Red Hot, Kite Gallery, Cairns
2015–2022
7 Group Exhibitions (Kiama Pop Series, Summertime, All That Jazz, Botanica, Now, Painted Object), Old Fire Station Gallery & Art Bar Kiama, Kiama NSW
6 Solo Exhibitions (Wavelength, Ghetto Chic, Category Is, Don’t Pop Over…, Dreamscapes, and Just Like That), Art Bar Kiama, Kiama NSW
2018–2020
Director’s Choice Shows, Artsite Contemporary, Camperdown
2018 & 2019
Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Premier Events (Misplaced & Dangling, Booty)
Artsite Contemporary, Camperdown
Representation
2023 –
NorthSite Contemporary Arts, Cairns (Exhibiting Artist)
2018 – 2022
Artsite Contemporary, Camperdown
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appointment.
Jamie Cole is an urban pop Australian artist based in Cairns, Far North Queensland.Â
Jamie creates beautiful, quirky, and vibrant paintings and sculptures, often with a social or political message. His instantly recognisable style of acrylic, aerosol, collage & mixed media artwork is influenced by his love and respect for the Pop Art movement.Â
Jamie’s background in photography, illustration & graphic design are the perfect training for his urban pop creations. In 2013 Jamie committed to painting full-time and since then has presented more than 30 solo and group exhibitions in commercial and public galleries across NSW and FNQ; and been selected as a Finalist in the prestigious Percivals Portrait Prize, National Contemporary Art Prize (Sustainability) and the Fisher’s Ghost Art Awards (Contemporary).Â
