Winner: ACAE Gallery Award.
In my practice, I weave together cultural influences, memories, emotions, and the subtleties of everyday existence. Observation is an inherent and fundamental way I interact with and perceive the world, exploring the hidden beauty of my surroundings.
Part of my process is picking, gathering and archiving. From a young age, I would gather random objects and materials—discarded junk like old candy wrappers, sticks, stones, scraps of paper, and string. Over time, I accumulated so much that my mother created a “junk box” for me, as I would get upset whenever she tried to throw away what I considered precious. I’ve always been noticeably drawn to what is decaying, intrigued by the unnoticed. Perhaps it’s because these things live their own eternal life beyond the point of being discarded. I collect and repurpose items from my everyday life in unconventional ways such as old pieces of wood that take on new life and meaning as surfaces for painting.
This method of physically gathering from my environment is an approach to exploring and connecting with my surroundings. I seek to capture the simplicity and complexity of daily life, from the familiar to the unfamiliar, the natural to the fabricated. I am intrigued by the windy, whimsical rhythms of bare winter branches and the weathering of old Melbourne houses as the paint crackles off.
By exploring the dualities that define existence, I aim to evoke an appreciation for life’s intricacies, encouraging a mindful noticing of the transient beauty in the ordinary and mundane. I am inspired to take notice before these remarkable glimpses slip away. Ambiguity is central to my artistic journey. My works are deliberately elusive, resisting neat categories or clear interpretation. Rather than conveying a specific message, I embrace spontaneity and intuition, producing wayward imagery that invites the audience to form their own personal connections. I work with ink on paper, oil painting and clay amongst other methods of making.
