a time before, rasoha
In mid-March 2021, Noosa Regional Gallery Director and Curator Michael Brennan asked me to be a part of a group exhibition opening almost a year later.
I had been painting on and off and intended to find a studio and work toward painting more often. I was painting (or trying to) in a small room at home. While it was a start, I didn't have much space. Or the ability to make a mess.
As PAINT is fast approaching, I look back on the last year with gratitude and growth.
I spent the first half of 2022 dreaming of what I would create for this exhibition, how I'd execute it, what it would feel like and delving into my heritage.
Being the largest body of work I have produced, I felt the pressure. This feeling soon melted away. Suddenly, it became about doing and feeling.
My process began by drafting some questions for my Baba (grandmother). I had planned to visit Western Australia to ask her in person, but entering the state proved impossible. Instead, I improvised. Mum got the call to relay some open-ended questions alongside requests to dig around in her old photo albums.
I wanted to connect with Baba in a way I have not before, making links between her way of life, and my own.
I prepared questions that included things like;
Do you have any early memories of the ocean? Is there a favourite memory?
What was it like to live on an island?
How do you feel when you are around the water?
How would you spend time by the ocean? Fishing, swimming, eating?
Baba was born in Rasoha in 1935. Rasoha is on the northern shores of island Korcula, east of Blato. Her family used donkeys to carry their goods between the two towns.
She rarely left the island as a child and recollects teaching herself how to swim at age 4 or 5. She loved swimming the most and enjoyed net fishing with her father off the rowboat. Her father had a fishing rod and (most importantly) a cray pot. They were approximately 1.5m wide and made of woven twigs collected from the forest on the island.
The ocean provided an abundant supply of food. Limpets, mussels, sea snails and sea urchins. All things Baba still loves to eat.
Baba's family had a market garden/olive grove in Hrastovice. They grew olive trees to produce oil for sale, grapes to make wine, fig and carob trees.
Hearing these stories has bought a lot of meaning. This way of life brings me perspective. My childhood was rich with tradition (in a loose sense of the word). It was about being around family, being hospitable and welcoming, sharing experiences (mainly around the ocean) and eating the best food.
My practice involves a lot of writing because I can internalise my thoughts and record them on paper. It enables me to look back on those words and paint how I was feeling or the paint moments in time I wish to share. The most important part is being present enough to experience them.
Getting off screens and spending time by the ocean or in nature offers something I find hard to describe. It brings perspective, acts as a mirror and allows my mind to be still. It reminds me of the deep connection humans have to the earth and each other. When by the ocean, I rarely think of anything else. It all fades away.
Creating artworks came with ease after this.
I look to my connection with the ocean and my lineage. They lived off the land and sea, had the ocean as their front porch and only knew what was in front of them. I dream of those moments when there weren't so many distractions, only living and being.
I began to cart (at least) ten moleskines to my studio every day, focussing on the words I had written over the last two or three years. Memories would flood back and without any review, a painting would emerge.
Characterised by unpredictable and intentional mark-making, my paintings for this exhibition reveal individual stories and deep emotions. Vibrant with ocean blue, the works supersede their natural form, extending as far as you can see - inviting you to look further.
'A Time Before, Rasoha', 'Asking The Sea For Answers' and 'Drifting Toward You' are amongst the titles for the artworks created.
Alongside 2D works, the idea of creating 3D sculptures arose. Having never hand-built anything and with limited knowledge, I seized the opportunity. At this point, time began to fly. If I was not working, I was painting. When I wasn’t painting, I was sculpting.
Endless attempts to create sculptures taught me perseverance, confidence and motivation. I broke pieces, continually badgered potter friends and watched countless youtube videos. The result: translating my world into objects. It definitely won't be the last time I work with clay. I'm already thinking of what I can make next.
What I enjoyed most about this time was my studio space. A place I would go most days, I was covered in blue paint and surrounded by blue walls. Entering would mean disconnecting, belonging and warmth (weather-wise and feeling-wise). Sitting on my stool surrounded by images of my family, writings on the walls, paper, and painted footprints on the floor - I was at home.
The pieces I am exhibiting at PAINT communicate personal stories and encourage others to reminisce and savour the uncomplicated.
Read what Noosa Regional Gallery Director and Curator Michael Brennan wrote about PAINT.
‘PAINT’ opens on Friday 29th April at Noosa Regional Gallery and runs until 19th June.
Artists include Ebony Busk, Evelyn Marina, June Sartracom, Lauren Jones, Mitchell Cheesman and Odessa Mahony-de Vries.
Sunset swim at Moffat Beach after a long day in my studio.
Photographing work for the exhibition catalogue.
Studio.