Family Altar 2008
Steve, 2008, oil on wood, 19 x 19 cm
Banana Bug, 2008, oil and metal leaf on wood (installation view). Private collection
Inhabitants installation view
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Pepe, 2008, oil on wood, 19 x 19 cm
Hazel Leaf-Rolling Beetle, 2008, oil and gold leaf on wood (installation view). Private collection
Gallery installation view
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Sandie, 2008, oil and gold leaf on wood, 15 x 19 cm
Rhinoceros Beetle, 2008, oil and gold leaf on wood, 9.5 x 12.5 cm. Private collection
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Family Altar 2008
Characteristically, altarpieces and icon paintings depict scenes of saints performing miracles, or angels descending from on high, but in this series of work, we see instead, a selection of ordinary people presented at rest, and delicate little insects or birds resting on leaves or sipping nectar from flowers.
These subjects are the artist's interpretation of the miraculous in this world, and in a gesture of devotion, she sets them in gold. The labour-intensive approach to painting reflects a kind of devotion by the artist toward her subject matter.
By placing the figures and creatures within a luminous golden space, the artist appropriates the ethereal qualities and and spiritual associations historically linked with the use of gold leaf in painting.
This body of work was made in response to a research tour of Spain, which exposed the artist to a rich collection of 13th to 15th century religious altarpieces. This travelling scholarship was was funded by the Embassy of Spain in the ACT through the ANU Emerging Artist Support Scheme.
Exhibited at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Manuka in 2008.
Characteristically, altarpieces and icon paintings depict scenes of saints performing miracles, or angels descending from on high, but in this series of work, we see instead, a selection of ordinary people presented at rest, and delicate little insects or birds resting on leaves or sipping nectar from flowers.
These subjects are the artist's interpretation of the miraculous in this world, and in a gesture of devotion, she sets them in gold. The labour-intensive approach to painting reflects a kind of devotion by the artist toward her subject matter.
By placing the figures and creatures within a luminous golden space, the artist appropriates the ethereal qualities and and spiritual associations historically linked with the use of gold leaf in painting.
This body of work was made in response to a research tour of Spain, which exposed the artist to a rich collection of 13th to 15th century religious altarpieces. This travelling scholarship was was funded by the Embassy of Spain in the ACT through the ANU Emerging Artist Support Scheme.
Exhibited at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Manuka in 2008.