When and how did you first fall in love with art?
I grew up in a creative environment from a very young age. But specifically, when I was in grade 6, I drew the Spice Girls from a cassette tape and took it to school to show my friends. I remember being commended on how it looked exactly like the picture. From there I realised I had a talent for drawing and enjoyed nurturing my skills throughout my childhood by copying celebrities from magazines. I completed my Bachelor of Fine Arts at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland in 2013.
Describe your art practice in a single sentence.
I contemplate life experiences and translate them through portraits, depicting images realistically and often with a twist – there is always a message to be decrypted.
When do you feel your most creative?
My process starts with exploring ideas digitally in Photoshop. When I’m ready to create, time in my studio includes coffee, loud dance music and having materials and experimental artworks scattered everywhere. Sometimes I feel inspired to create new work and sometimes I need space from my sketchbook to articulate what I’m trying to say. It could be during the day or at 2am that I feel the urge to put pencil to paper.
Where do you find inspiration?
I use my life experiences as my inspiration to create. I predominantly use portraiture to communicate my narratives. My themes can be as mundane as running out of phone battery or as deep as surviving cancer and pregnancy loss.
What materials do you use and why?
Depending on the message I’m trying to communicate I will use pencil, colour pencil and/or pen. Pencils are erasable, colour pencils can’t be completely erased, and pen is unforgivably permanent. Each three mediums provide their own challenges and can add a specific quality to my work.
What have you been working on recently?
I’m currently developing my large body of work for my first solo exhibition titled Mid-Sentence at Gatakers Artspace, Maryborough, Queensland. Mid-Sentence is an introspective exhibition comprised of several bodies of work. Each series explores a different moment in time significant to my journey. Dipping in between real and surreal imagery, the intricately detailed portraits are inspired by personal experiences, yet invite the viewer to construct their own narrative. Reflecting creatively on my journey, I have already said so much. But as a 35-year-old woman, I have so much more to say. In essence, I am mid-sentence.
Pick three art world players you would invite to
dinner.
René Magritte, Jenny Saville and Cindy Sherman.