“GOING HOME”
Ochre Sands and Shades of Blue
Lauren Marie Wilson
Long, is the path ahead.
And though my body tires,
and I have far to go,
I know I’m going home. –Asgeir Trausti, (2013).
My current body of work “GOING HOME” is a personal representation of my relationship between my two homes, Alice Springs and Darwin. My works are characterised within the field of abstract aerial landscape art, as I take inspiration from forms and colour’s from these geographical locations and reinterpret them into my works.
Ochre sands represents my old home of Alice Springs; red dirt lands and burnt ochre sands mixed with the warm beige of dried river beds. Raw and fragile configurations and layered textures overlap to embody the hostile and unforgiving landscape that is the outback. Shades of Blue represents my new home of Darwin, rich turquoise and opal blue hues cascading over each other and the surrounding beige of the sand bars that appear at low tide. Iridescent lacy patterns capture the beauty of the top end.
Throughout this body of work I have intended to represent the fleeting feeling of arriving home. As I travel to and from both Alice Springs and Darwin I am in a constant state of “going home” and have been able to visually represent this ephemeral feeling through my abstract aerial landscapes representational of Alice Springs and Darwin. Nostalgia also plays a heavy role in communicating this sentiment. I rely on viewer’s personal memory and feelings, to form a relationship either similar to mine or completely different. Viewers can appreciate the work formally or they can search for their own meaning through their interpretation. Viewer interpretation is an important element that is fundamental with abstract art. I hope viewers can feel comfortable in seeking their own interpretation.
Lisa Wolfgramm, 2009 describes “pouring paint at a distance from a horizontal canvas constitutes, if not a totally random act, at least a unique and un-repeatable event.” My process and practice are similar and take inspiration from Wolfgramm’s as I intend to create un-repeatable and unique occurrences in each work.
The materials used throughout this series have been acrylic paint diluted with water on board. There is a simplistic beauty between water and paint when combined, the gooeyness melts away and the diluted paint can roll over the board effortlessly, pooling and drying where it wishes. My process fits somewhere between action painting and abstract aerial painting as I take elements from both styles: the spontaneity and freeness from action painting; and the visual references of landscapes through memory; and personal observation from aerial painting. I combine these two styles to create colour filled canvases through pouring which are reminiscent of aerial images and that pay homage to the Australian landscape and the importance of home.
Using these materials in this way is important to the final pieces because of the interactions between the water and the paint. The water reacts and enhances the paint in a way that when dried creates so much texture and organic arrangements that are un-repeatable. The water also makes the paint flow so beautifully and permits the colour’s to interact and dance with each other slowly before settling and arranging themselves to dry on the board. My touch is retracted so that the paint is in control. I can not replicate or repeat the event that has taken place on the board, its all about the moment and is left to chance. Like the Australian landscapes there’s so much uniqueness and detail hidden within my paintings. The ocean waves moving in and out at low tide, creating patterns and movements is reflected in Shades of Blue. The rough winds that move the reddened and burnt sands across desolated land are reflected in the Ochre Sands. Both capturing movement in stillness.
Artists such as Jackson Pollock will always be a motivation for me and my practice as his action painting process is the foundation on which mine has been able to grow. Contemporary Australian artists such as Lara Merrett, with her enormous colour saturated canvases that capture colour in everyday life have motivated me to be bold with colour choices and canvas size. Lisa Wolfgramm with her pouring series, devoted to experimentation has also been an influential artist to the development of my practice as she explores the process and the act of pouring itself and reminds me to treat the canvas as a “field to be activated through material manipulation” (L.Wolfgramm, 2009).
References
Trausti, A. (2013) ‘Going home’, In the Silence,
Wolfgramm, L. (2009) ‘Poured’ Tuner galleries viewed 21st October 2014,
<http://www.turnergalleries.com.au/exhibitions/13_wolfgramm.php#.VEiRjtxRf1o>
LMWStudio 