Biography
Born Wollongong, Australia 1972.
Currently living and working in Hong Kong
Education
1995 Post Graduate Diploma University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts
1994 Bachelor of Visual Arts University of Western Sydney Macarthur
Solo Exhibitions
2003 ‘Kunstevent’ Beursgbouw, Antwerp, Belgium
1995 'The Hungry Teapot' Mary Place Gallery, Paddington, Australia
1994 'Giddy Painting' Toast Gallery, Sydney, Australia
Group Exhibitions
2004
'Selected semi-finalist IYA Artlink competition' Amsterdam, Moscow, Tele Aviv
'Arrested Art' Carpenters Hall Bayswater, London England
'Selected work from 41 Australian & New Zealand Photographers'
Sothebys Insitute of Art New York
Sothebys.com Associate Exhibition & Online Auction
'41 Australian & New Zealand Photographers' Australian Consulate
General New York Sothebys.com Associate Exhibition & Online Auction
'Kunst Köln 2002' Presentation of work in lecture on Australian and New Zealand Photography
by Alison Holland at Kunst Köln 2002, Köln Photo II International Photo Fair, Cologne Germany
1997
'Fibro - A devotion to the Surburbs' Australian Perspecta
Casula Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Australia
'Howard Leonard Gallery' Collection, Sydney Australia
1996
'From Strength to Hope' Wagga National Gallery, Australia
'Howard Leonard Gallery', Collection, Sydney Australia
'From Strength to Hope' Amnesty International,
Artspace, Art Gallery of New South Wales,
From Strength to Hope' Australia Travelling Exhibition, Bathurst National Gallery
'Precious' Post Grad Exhibition, Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney Australia
'Emerging Visual Artists' Pultney Grammer, Adelaide Australia
'Mary Alice Evertt Award' Casula Powerhouse & Arts Centre, Sydney Australia
'55 Degrees' Graduation Exhibition UWS Macarthur, Sydney Australia
'Nine to One' Liverpool Council Chambers Coalescense, Sydney Australia
'Coalescence' Bondi Pavillion Gallery, Sydney Australia
Collections
Jason DeBasio Collection, United States of America
Pultney Grammer School, South Australia
Publications
Dec 1997 'Struggling to be Seen' Artlink Magazine
Aug 1997 'Burbs on Toast' The Daily Telegraph
Aug 1997 'The Arts' The Australian
July 1995 'The Gallery' Commercial Photography
April 1995 'On the Exhibition Trail' Commercial Photography
Jan 1995 'Top 25 Photographic Students in NSW' Commercial Photography
Aug 1994 'Welcome to Giddy Painting' The Torch
Aug 1997 ABC Television, Artattack, featuring 'Toasty':Fibro Australian Perspecta
Aug 1997 2SSRFM Radio - Interview on Australian Perspecta
Giddy Painting
I have developed a visual language of symbols to express my ideas about life.
There is always so much more that lays beneath the surface of an image.
You might see green chokos, where I see old men with their false teeth missing,
sitting around smiling as they reflect on their life. You might see a glove and string,
I see commitment and responsibility, these two things walk continuosly either side of
you on your living journey. You can see a bottle of red cordial, I see the rising of a
new day, insecurity and death. This bottle could fall and break at any time and the contents
bleed out, so this life could be taken from us in an instant. You may see life in black,
grey and white, I see in life vibrant red, blinding yellow and a beautiful and tranquil green.< br>
"Men only employ speech to coneal their thoughts" Voltaire
"The most immutable barrier in nature is between one man's thoughts and anothers"
William James
"Because a work of art does not aim at reproducing natural appearances, it is not therefore an
escape from life, but an expression of significance of life, a stimulation to greater effort in living"
Henry Moore
"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to live more and more"
Jules Renard
"Art is much less important than life, but what a poor life without it"
Robert Motherwell
"Language is a form of organised stutter" Marshell McLuhan
"Artists can colour the sky red because they know its blue. Those of us who aren't
artists must colour things the way they are or people may think we're stupid" Jules Feiffer
"The longer I live themore beautiful life becomes" F.L Wright
Giddy Painting stems from a notion of prior perception and its inescapable nature.
Our everyday life is made up of what interests us, and ultimately so are we.
We all approach things (objects) differently and we hold preconcieved ideas in regards to
these things. This is due to our upbringing and what has effected us in our everyday lives.
Because of this our interaction with objects is from a notion of prior perception, which we
cannot escape.
Hungry Teapot
Australian domestic life is a theme for my work, where eerie still lives draw on the symbolic
link between domesticity and the beauty of both functional and inane objects.
Jean Mary Norman said
Domestic objects are very apparent in my work and are used for the strength of symbolism
associated with them. Feminine labour is briefly referred to with the interpretation depending
upon your own preconceived ideas.
The symbolic nature of the object is used to develop a visual language within the work,
however my images are also about exemplifying the beauty of the object. We are surrounded
by objects 24 hours a day, we interact with them whether functional or inane, my images
develop a visual language that celebrates the object and tries to over come barriers
in spoken language and tries to communicates globally, through its own symbolic nature.
Written and spoken language as a medium for communication restricts us in many ways.
It is difficult to communicate orally or in writing with someone who speaks a different language.
For example - our language reflects our concept of time. When referring to the existence
of an object, we often take for granted the role that time plays in that existence.
We define objects with qualifications of height, breadth, and depth. The dimension of
time is assumed. On the other hand, in Eskimo culture, the role of time is consciously recognised
as a vital dimension of the objects. These differing notions of time have apparent effect
on language. We might look at an image and say 'this is a house', an Eskimo would say
'at this time, this is a house'. Far from being merely idiosyncratic, these differences represent
the limitations of words as tools of communication.
Another example of the restriction of language as a universal communication tool is
the expression "out of sight, out of mind", when translated by a computer into Russian,
and then back into English, becomes "invisible maniac", demonstrating the frustration
and restrictions which are unwittingly encountered in an attempt to communicate using
a language based on words.
Paradoxically my inspiration often comes from simple words and also written expressions
of how difficult it is using words to communicate, especially through intensely emotional
circumstances - how words often fail, and leave one feeling isolated and captive.
In my pictures I use everyday objects in an easily recognizable visual form, because I feel
that they often capture the feelings and ideas more precisely, and more universally, than words.
Inbetween
My latest work 'Inbetween' takes, as its basis, the considerations of perception and
prior-perception. Our everyday life is made up of the things which interest us, and
ultimately so are we as individuals. We each approach things or objects in a unique way,
and we each hold preconceived ideas about the everyday things which surround us.
These differences are due to our upbringing, environment, culture, religion, history all the
other things which have affected us in the past. All these influences, this prior-perception,
changes the way we interact even with everyday objects we can't escape it.
From infancy we learn to interpret our world. It is a gradual process as we acquaint ourselves
with things we see, then name and touch. This idea brings us then to a relationship
between perception and knowledge, between appearance and reality.
The new work is about light and shadow, and the intrigue of everyday life. It is composed
of various domestic scenes, the lounge room, the bathroom, ‘the paddock girl’,
who is fenced out of - or into - something. Everything is constructed from raw materials,
found domestically, painted cardboard, masking tape, wire, old dolls, etc. The scenes are
created using common objects, there is alot of painting using an 18th century glazing
technique,and are then photographed by painting with light, in order to create a cinematic quality.
She sits dressed, looking beautiful, the clock ticks on and on, and she ponders
"Where has time gone?" and, "Would he ever be home again?"....