Secret life of police - Brent Davidson

Editorial: Grant Condon

2020 has been a year like no other for Victoria Police, one that is difficult to summarise with words.

Fortunately, if the adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ rings true, Police Custody Officer (PCO) Brent Davidson has captured the emotions and events of the difficult past year in one striking artwork.

The Dandenong Police Station PCO is a budding artist away from work and spent two months creating an oil-paint portrait of an anonymous officer in uniform.

The finer details of the piece cover the two most significant events for the force in 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the tragic deaths of four police officers in Kew in April, among others.

“The blue skin of my model displays that Victoria Police officers are blue through and through,” PCO Davidson said.

“The four badges show the registered numbers of the four officers who that tragically lost their lives, and the mask represents 2020 as a whole. The organisational values are on the mask to show that Victoria Police upholds these values and they are always with us.

“The different colours represent the diversification across the organisation, including members of the LGBTIQ community.

“My inspiration for the painting was to do a reflection on the challenging year 2020 has been.”

PCO Brent Davidson put his paintbrush to canvas to summarise what a challenging year 2020 has been for Victoria Police. The striking portrait will now go on display at the Dandenong Police Station.

The painting will now go on display in the wings of the Dandenong Police Station.

PCO Davidson has been painting for 20 years and holds a diploma in visual arts. You can check out more of his artwork on Instagram by searching @dingleyartist.