Andy Griffiths sculpture unveiled at Australia’s National Portrait Gallery

Australian children’s author Andy Griffiths has been commemorated in a four-metre-high sculpture at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. The 3D-printed work, titled Andy Andy, was created by artist Ronnie van Hout. It depicts Griffiths perched in a tree and surrounded by multiple versions of himself, reflecting the author’s description of his “inner kid” and his creative approach.

Griffiths said the sculpture represented the part of him that still had time to wonder, enjoy the ride and avoid simply trying to reach an endpoint. He and van Hout had not met before the project, but they share an interest in punk music and absurdist humour. The sculpture is displayed with Brainstorm, another work by van Hout featuring 130 objects, books and pieces of music from Griffiths’ writing room.

Griffiths said the installation would allow children and adults to encounter alternative forms of thinking, art and music. The exhibition opened days after the death of Terry Denton, Griffiths’ illustrator and creative collaborator of almost 30 years and the artist behind the Treehouse series. Griffiths said Denton had encouraged his unconventional work when he was a young punk musician whose ideas were difficult to publish.

He described the pair as having enabled each other’s creativity and said he missed Denton deeply. Andy Andy and Brainstorm will remain on display at the National Portrait Gallery until mid-2027.