The work: Sophia Lee Georgas, Arrangement, 2020. Oil on canvas, 101.6 x 76.2cm. Courtesy: the artist.
Currently in her final year of a Master of Fine Art degree at Sydney’s National Art School, Sophia Lee Georgas attributes her art practice to her fixation with architectural structures dedicated to higher beings. “As a child I spent countless hours in spiritual and sacred buildings observing the interior ornaments whilst contemplating the celestial atmosphere,” she says. “These details are ingrained in my memory, creating a new way of seeing and understanding places and objects with religious connotations.” Today, Georgas attempts to render these buildings in oil paint – their perfectly aesthetic and idealistic forms transformed into symbolic elements on her canvas. Vast cavernous spaces, altars and pulpits are translated in colourful and geometric shapes, yet their fragmentation offers an alternate view of these sacred spaces. Dream-like in quality, Georgas’ works offer an alternate scene, one filled with the imperfections of reality.