Advanced Diploma in Fine Arts - Painting & Printmaking - Artist’s Statement
The body of work that I have constructed over this year I feel has evolved and grown to become fairly strong throughout this time.
The theme that this collection of artworks embodies embraces the issues of child abuse and sexuality. I have chosen to use dolls and mannequins as my subject matter as I feel they support these themes immensely and in a way that is not actually depicting the issue itself as they make people uncomfortable knowing that something isn't quite right with them.
The doll also is a representation of life which is ironic as they portray death better. I think this is an interesting way of looking at these images as they are also trying to capture “life” but end up capturing a sort of death.
I think that child abuse not only takes away the innocence that is associated with childhood but also allows a child to die a bit inside. They are used and then left broken. In the same way a child’s doll is used and then thrown away leaving it battered and broken. I think these dolls have more life to them than one that is kept in pristine condition. They seem to have a story behind them.
Artist Influences: The two main artists that have proven to be a great influence within my work also happen to be two of my favorite, Del Kathryn Barton and Egon Schiele. I love Barton’s use of contour and shadow lines within her works, they make for an intriguing painting. Within Schiele’s work the loose and little amount of application of paint attracts me to his work. He also uses quite interesting, quirky line work.
Mediums: Within the one body of work there are several small ones. The monotype etchings, paintings and photographs all work together as a large body of work.
The body of work that I have constructed over this year I feel has evolved and grown to become fairly strong throughout this time.
The theme that this collection of artworks embodies embraces the issues of child abuse and sexuality. I have chosen to use dolls and mannequins as my subject matter as I feel they support these themes immensely and in a way that is not actually depicting the issue itself as they make people uncomfortable knowing that something isn't quite right with them.
The doll also is a representation of life which is ironic as they portray death better. I think this is an interesting way of looking at these images as they are also trying to capture “life” but end up capturing a sort of death.
I think that child abuse not only takes away the innocence that is associated with childhood but also allows a child to die a bit inside. They are used and then left broken. In the same way a child’s doll is used and then thrown away leaving it battered and broken. I think these dolls have more life to them than one that is kept in pristine condition. They seem to have a story behind them.
Artist Influences: The two main artists that have proven to be a great influence within my work also happen to be two of my favorite, Del Kathryn Barton and Egon Schiele. I love Barton’s use of contour and shadow lines within her works, they make for an intriguing painting. Within Schiele’s work the loose and little amount of application of paint attracts me to his work. He also uses quite interesting, quirky line work.
Mediums: Within the one body of work there are several small ones. The monotype etchings, paintings and photographs all work together as a large body of work.