Empty Vessels was a joint exhibition with mixed media artist, Artemis Jones, at Pūmanawa Gallery in Ōtautahi/Christchurch in April 2022. It was my first exhibition since moving to the South Island and the beginning of a collaborative friendship with Artemis Jones.
Selected Works:
Artist Statement:
I work in a variety of media: painting, photography, creative writing, collage, and zines, though painting and photography are currently my primary choices. My work explores my internal, and my external, realities.
I paint with gouache, a paint I chose for its vibrant colours, and its lighter environmental footprint (when compared with acrylics, which I used for most of my early work). My paintings can be broadly split into two styles: colourful, decorative garden and floral art; and deeply personal, symbolist, abstract paintings.
My decorative works have a colour palette and style influenced by van Gogh, Monet, and the impressionist movement, through use of expressive, visible brushstrokes and bold colours combined in the painting. We have a large, slightly wild, cottage garden that brings me a sense of connection and belonging. It is a diverse ecosystem: full of life, full of colour, and ever-changing. I often work from photographs I have taken, seeking to share the joy and wonder that I feel.
It is this sense of wonder at the beauty, diversity, and details of the natural environment that inspires my photography practice.
My deeper, more abstract paintings draw from contemporary New Zealand artists including Colin McCahon and Ralph Hotere, as well as the symbolic works of Hieronymus Bosch. Like these artists, and bringing inspiration from the zine aesthetic, my work often includes text. I explore my inner world, communicating my thoughts, feelings, questions, and awareness in a way that I cannot express solely through words. Over time, many of these works have become political in nature, particularly in reference to the environmental impacts of the human species.
Exhibition Gallery:
