Enormous shifts in attitudes toward ‘art’, and what constitutes ‘art’ have been made over the past century. However, the tradition of painting in Western culture is a beautiful context in which to work: painting has historically provided access to the emotional and spiritual realms which lost other outlets of expression through the rise of rationalism during the Enlightenment period of the Eighteenth Century.
In a prevailing culture which says “I think therefore I am”, painting has consistently replied “I think, and feel and have spirit, therefore I am”.
My practice aims to create a balance in the relationship between intention and intuition. Colour perception is fundamental to both the creation and viewing of the paintings. The process of painting is one of investigation and surprise, as colour and forms shift, intertwine, then disconnect to form new relationships within the space of the painting. The works describe a world of interdependence, rather than independence.
As we navigate a world in which ideas of sustainability are increasingly explored and valued, painting is one medium which can describe a process of discovery, adaption and beauty – helping us to a better understanding of ourselves within our world.
“I had to make something which had this essential quality of precipitating itself as ‘surprise’ and, simultaneously, there was no way of knowing with what one was dealing until it existed; so that in order to see one had to paint and through that activity found what could be seen.” – Bridget Riley, 2004
I studied Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts, The University of Sydney, graduating with a Masters by Research in 2005. I have exhibited in group and solo shows in Sydney and Perth, Australia.