A Family Portrait

A portrait without the people. By expressing how each individual family member both uses and views one of the most overlooked, yet an important room of the house, the common, everyday bathroom, I am able to create a portrait of a family through their bathroom. Each panel of my triptych represents a different family member (from left to right, Mum, Child and Dad), creating a scan of the majority of the bathroom.

Through excluding the people from my portrait, I suggest that one can find more about a person through the way they use and view a room: specifically, the bathroom. Whether it be as a means of escape, a place to play with toys, or as a place to take care of one’s appearance behind closed doors.

The simple change of angle in which the portrait is taken from can shift the focus of the artwork from the view of an adult to that of a child, as seen in difference from the first artwork to the second.

I have included the presence of bubbles within all the artworks, from which one can infer that all three of the family members are existing in the bathroom within the same space of time, however, they view it in different ways.

just a mess

just a mess’ is a digital pentaptych drawing, depicting a dirty and untidy desk space of an emotional unstable person.This work is both a literal expression and metaphorical representation of what can happen to a person’s mental state and physical space in times of major confusion, stress, or change. Throughout a person’s lifetime it is highly likely that they will experiences some type of stress which cause confusion, disorganisation or general unwellness, whether it's small, only lasting a few hours, or large lasting years, and through this drawing I tried to shed light on a fairly common, but unfortunate situation to be in.

Diversity Samples

There are 12 different ceramic tiles of a nose or mouth. The tiles show how humans are different and not all the same. There is variety. The ceramic tiles are all hand made, finished and fired with an oxide on each tile which adds depth and picks up the intricacies and diverseness of the facial features.

Change UnTamed

My piece "Change UnTamed" explores the paradoxical concept that change is the only constant within our lives. I expand on this idea with the suggestion that not only is change an ever-present aspect of our existence, but beneath its seemingly terrifying exterior, there is great beauty within it. The contrast between the soft warm tones and smooth organic lines of the clouds comprising the background, with the sharp lines of |the crashing wave (inspired by Hokusai's Wave Off Kanagawa), clearly illustrates this concept of hidden beauty.

In addition, my utilisation of circular vector lines created by the waves, the clouds and the strands of Grace Tame’s hair, I create for the viewer a sense of continuous movement by guiding the motion of their gaze, furthering my key idea of the constant nature of change.I make use of a pun in my title
“Change UnTamed”, not only reinforcing the underpinning concept of the piece, but also implying the identity of the change-maker depicted at the painting’s centre; Grace Tame.Tame (Winner of the 2021 Australian of the Year Award) has been working to create legal change in Australia, aiming to change Tasmania’s ‘gag laws’, which prevent sexual assault victims being identified, even if permitted. This addition of a recognised activist reinforces my theme of the perpetual nature of change.

In addition, I utilise juxtaposition of colour and tone to draw the eye of my audience to the salient object; the face of Grace, centred in the middle of the canvas. The dark blues of the wave, as well as the reds, oranges and maroons of the sky serve to highlight her pale face, drawing the attention of the audience. Finally, the solemn, direct gaze is used to further create audience engagement, as it not only draws their eye to the painting, but also creates curiosity due to the ambiguity of her expression, piquing the intrigue of the viewer. Perspex The two perspex circles hung in front of the painting (50cm diameter and 60cm diameter), reinforce the consistency of change in two key ways; the imagery engraved upon them, and the way they alter the individual’s view of the painted imagery. Upon both pieces of perspex, the face of Grace Tame is etched. However, on the 60cm round she is depicted as a serious, wrinkled older woman, while on the 50cm round she is depicted as a plump, smiling child. This imagery creates a connection between the audience and my artwork as it reminds the viewer of their own ever changing nature. Similarly, the curving birch tree, symbolic of rebirth in Celtic mythology, depicted in the larger perspex, adds to the vector of the painting it overlays, continually guiding the viewers gaze in an anticlockwise direction. The beautiful robin, another Celtic symbol of new beginnings, reinforces the concept of the beauty of change.

Finally, the topographic pattern of the final perspex piece depicting the coastline of the Twelve Apostles, reaffirms the idea of the perpetual and beautiful nature of change, as erosion constantly alters the shape of this iconic landmark, while the organic linework is pleasing to the eye.

Down the Rabbit Hole

The conceptual meaning of my artwork is to explore escapism, and often its negative consequences when being overly absorbed in another reality. I try to incorporate elements of Impressionist’s dream-like art styles, like Claude Monet’s distinct brushstrokes, the intentionally visually aesthetic aspects of my artwork to illustrate the appeal of escapism in the human experience. However, through the slightly unsettling aspects of my work such as the darker tones, the dull, angry or anguished facial expressions of the figures, the lack of pupils, I suggest that although escapism may appear appealing, it can often make one disconnected to reality. There are heavy ‘Alice in Wonderland’ motifs from Lewis Carroll’s series as I felt as though I could strengthen my conceptual meaning of the appeal of escapism, yet its dangers. I also further link to this, as my artwork consists of two pieces to mimic an open book, as reading is a form of escapism.

All Dolled Up

My artwork is a composition based on women’s roles in the Rococo era. I was particularly inspired by how women were portrayed with bored expressions on their faces despite the party settings and their opulence. In these portraits they were traditionally placed in groups, so I attempted to mirror this within my own work to hint to its inspirations within art history.

I wanted to convey a scene communicating the meticulous control exerted within women’s lives by men and thus the doll-like place they took within their society. They sat pretty, still, quiet, all dolled up. The silhouettes of hand controlling them with golden puppet strings is symbolic of patriarchal control despite the mirage of wealth. I tried to distract the viewer through intricate details of beauty: flowers, roses, beaded dresses so their strings would appear as an obvious symbol of the subtle control visible within original portraits, something not visible until you look deeper within the composition.

Social Judgement, Leading to Self-Judgment

The concept of this artwork is that social judgement leads us to judging ourselves and others, the concept is relatable to everyone in some way. My artwork is an installation, this helps the audience to interact with the artwork and feel deeper emotions towards it. I decided to make this artwork as it shows the struggles faced in society, in this case, self-judgment and the impact words can have on ourselves and others. I decided to symbolise this concept through an animal, a dog, as they can’t quite express emotions, creating the concept that us as humans can find it hard sometimes, especially in hard times. The use of the snake transitioning from the tail is a reference from Greek mythology of Minos the snake, also known as the devil. “You have asked for judgment, and judgment you shall have.” His tail is whipped out wrapping around himself. Structurally, I used wire armature as a base for my dog, leaving about 1.5m of wire for the tail, I then gathered layers of newspaper and started to create the dog shape, once I was happy with the shape, I used papier mache to smooth it out. Then, the snake, by wrapping the extra wire from the tail in newspaper in sections and wrapping it around the dog. Once the snake was complete, I went over with a layer of papier mache.

Fauvism: Cowches and Hats

My artwork is satirical and comedic in nature utilising structural and post-modern techniques. I have used appropriation of well-known artworks (on the wall) and absurdist humour to set this funky scene for social interaction and discussion amongst the two cows. The cows symbolise two old friends having a ‘gossip’ about this week’s latest scandal within the neighbourhood.

I used different sized paintbrushes to achieve a varied accumulation of thick and thin, jagged, and smooth brushstrokes defining the flow and focal points of the artwork in tandem with vibrant contrasting colours to emphasise the ‘silliness’ of the artwork.

Post no Bills: Sydney

This Body of Work covers themes of culture and history in reference to the development, immigration, and colonialism of Australia, and how it’s vision and perspective of culture has changed from the past to present. I have printed on top of real images from Australia during the White Australia Policy from 1901 to 1958, which strongly express the racist and xenophobic values of that time. I have then placed these images in stark contrast visually with the bright, bold, and fluid colours and forms of psychedelic images, which I have executed through reduction and multi-block lino printing, using a different colour for each layer. I have also contrasted the White Australia Policy images conceptually, using inclusive and multicultural visual imagery.This multiculturalism is explored through Sydney specifically, and its vast array of eclectic suburbs, that each hold different cultures. The first poster focuses on Chinese culture in Eastwood, the second on Arab Islamic culture in Lakemba, and the third on Indian culture in Harris Park, conveying how diverse the city of Sydney is.

Artwork 1 - A Green Symphony Artwork 2 -The Blue Page

Artwork 3 -Under That Red

My artwork depicts the symbolic hybridity between colours and emotions - colour psychology. Colours have played a big part of my aesthetic mindset; specifically how various types of colours stimulate a response from a person’s emotions and behavioural attitudes. Colours represent a specific emotion, which is why I decided to use watercolours and only paint one colour for each character while the rest of the environment is void of any colour other than monochrome. All the salience points to the characters, as their own colour represents the overall identity of the who they are.