Nightlife
Nightlife 2008 (exhibited Brenda May Gallery, Sydney)
My work addresses stereotypical aspects of iconic Australian culture, challenging how we define ourselves by examining the everyday. Painting is my primary medium, combined with found objects that reflect and enhance the nature of the ideas being explored.
My practice bridges questions of cultural identity, vernacular culture and iconic emblems with aspects of my own biography. Family photographs and my own documentation of significant events, people and places, are used as the basis of my paintings. I also explore ideas of the miniature, the emotive power of objects and the use of humour and playfulness as a means of expressing the conceptual concerns of the work. I am particularly interested in the way in which small-scale works can entice the viewer into the visual and emotional space of the work and can visually occupy as much space – if not more – than a work that is already physically big. The intention of making small-scale and miniature work is to suggest an ironic deflation of the ‘size’ of Australian iconic culture.