Brisbane Institute of Art
November 9th - 19th
Sharon Lee Linda Black Lyn Derrick
For me the theme of BIRD is tangled-up with the threat to the ecosystem. I want the viewer to ask of themselves and our society : when will we accept that there is a symbiotic relationship between nature, humans and the environs, and that we are all the same when threatened by catastrophic conditions?
I have never been interested in simply regurgitating images from books, or copying pictures without there being an idea behind the process. I tend to want there to be a concept.
So to start I look for inspiration. So
1/ Which birds? Just the threatened or any, including the common? Australian or worldwide?
2/ Start the process with drawing birds and children separately.
Through environmental storytelling I have decided to portray birds with human bodies, to signify that no ecosystem exits in a vacuum. What happens to animals, birds, vegetation and humans is inevitably tangled together.
Max Ernst (1891 - 1976 ) said, ' An artist must have one eye on the outer world while the other eye looks toward the inner world.' And it is with this in mind that I will aim to insert a disquieting idea - not simply pretty paintings of children and birds.
I want to highlight the threat imposed by climate predators and mass consumption. I want to question: if birds were considered priceless treasures of worth, or were inexplicably connected to our own children, perhaps our relationship with them and the ecosystem would be more considered?
3/ Cut them up and arrange so the amalgamated child/bird look as if they are one species.
Draw them with the chosen combination.
4/ Medium - Oils or acrylics?
5/ What will they be doing? Will the backgrounds highlight catastrophic conditions?
6/ Color's, atmosphere. A reckoning? Warning? Or should I make the threat more subtle?
Love this process . . .
ALCHEMY
60cm x 60cm
oil on canvas