Above: Gina Ward, Limbo, 2023. Acrylic on canvas, 76 x 61 cm, $3000. Courtesy: the artist.
“My inspiration for Limbo was the universal experience of being caught in the midst of life altering decisions”, says Brisbane-based artist Gina Ward. “Feeling caught in time, while the world is constantly moving incredibly fast around us – we must remember to take time, pause and reflect on the past, but also the trajectory of our futures.”
Limbo is executed in Ward’s signature style, her subject bisected by geometric planes of colour that play with contrast and perspective. Warm arcs of cream and terracotta abut passages of sky blue, lending the scene a sense of movement, despite its subject having come to rest on the steep staircase. It is not clear which direction the female figure is headed, and indeed perhaps she is in the midst of making a decision – ascend or descend? Her leg dips down out of the picture plane, but her face is turned resolutely over her shoulder. Though Ward has abstracted the subject’s features, there is a clear sense of determination in her posture, her full lips set in a firm line. She is poised and ready for whatever decision she makes. Ward cleverly imbues her work with emotive complexity, her subject made totemic through the artist’s use of abstraction and command of colour.