The work:Kat Tillman, Melted Thongs, 2022. Acrylic painting with Tasmanian Oak frame, 90 x 120cm. Courtesy: the artist.
“My work, for me, is nostalgic,” says artist Kat Tillman, who remembers her childhood as “wholesome days filled with laughter and celebration while submerged in this glorious land.” In her work Melted Thongs, we are treated to a playfully fantastical vista of the Australian coastline, with seagulls playing above blistering hot sand and tiny clouds floating through a clear blue sky. It seems almost as if the viewer has stepped inside a storybook, about to set off on a spirited adventure in the summer sun. The artist builds up her landscape using layers of bold colour, carefully sectioned and then brought to life with repetitive lines and patterns, with small plants and shrubs adorning the foreground. This simplification of scenery embodies the straightforward mind of a child, whose experiences of the world are reduced down to their elements – hot, rough, sharp, fuzzy. The artist’s use of black line accentuates this naïve translation of their surroundings, where the world is straightforward and wonderfully uncomplicated. The cool ocean washes against the shore, its waves tranquil and inviting, perfect for a summer frolic. The sun is setting on this scene, but there seems to be no waning of the light, as if this single, perfect day will go on forever.