Thea
In my work, I have mainly explored the coexistence of nature and our environment. I am particularly interested in plants, flowers, and trees. Some of my work looks directly at plants in the urban environment, while others look at them in their natural form.
In my work I have experimented with various materials such as drawing with inks, acrylic painting on wood, charcoal, and ceramics. However, I find my acrylic pieces turned out the most successful. One of my first pieces was an observational drawing, Harmony in Duality was based on plants in the local area and Parisian architecture, this was what inspired my initial idea of looking at how nature and the urban regions work together. This piece sends a message regarding the expansion of the industrial world and whether it can ever exist without disrupting the natural world, or if nature will always find its way back into our surroundings. My next piece, New York in Paris aims to investigate Parisian infrastructure - I experimented with recreating the aspect of walls before moving in to look into a purer more rural form of nature. Canadian Landscape is inspired by a picture of my family cabin on Vancouver Islands. I specifically incorporated this in my work because of the rising problem of forrest fires there due to global warming - this piece serves as a personal appreciation of the nature that surrounds me.
In Night Petals I was particularly influenced by Georgia O Keefe and her use of delicate line as well as pattern/repetition. In her piece Jimson Weed, she portrays 3 identical white flowers all from different angles. My use of repetition while painting many pink roses gives a similar effect. Both Night Petals and Garden Heart, are referenced from images of flower bouquets that my mother brings to our apartment. This highlights how even in very urban environments, nature is still greatly appreciated and intertwined with western culture regarding appreciation. Additionally Garden Heart is heavily influenced from Georigio Morandis use of interesting composition. In his piece Still Life he creates a subdued plain background in order to place a focal point on the main subject. In my piece, I not only use subdued colors but somewhat center the flower vase. In my charcoal drawing Sculpted Tranquility I was mainly influenced by traditional Thai buddha sculptures as they rely heavily on nature to maintain purity.
I was given an L shaped space composed of 3 panels for the exhibition. In the middle panel I placed Sculpted Tranquility and Lotus Bliss while they are very similar in theme and culture as both serve a significant purpose in appreciating nature in Southeastern Asian culture. I also placed the floral bowl sculpture underneath to connect to the sculpted aspect of the charcoal piece. I placed Garden Heart alone on a panel in order to emphasize further the focal point of the subject. Lastly on the furthest panel I put a collection of my smaller pieces that are more personal to me and put them together for them all to be more coherent in terms of size.
The initial interpretation to my work will most likely be about the beauty of nature, however I am hoping viewers also see this as a demonstration and a subtle warning to appreciate and conserve nature - especially in times like these where conflict and climate change arise.
Blossom Cascade (December/2023)
Ceramic Sculpture
30x17x10cm
This piece is a ceramic sculpture that is made up of 7 layers. The layers invite a reflection on the cyclical nature of life and growth. The arrangement of layers creates a sense of movement as if the flowers are in a motion of unfolding and blooming. I made this as a reflection of the complex components of nature that we sometimes ignore.
New York in Paris (November/2023)
Painting
45x17cm
This acrylic painting was made to emphasize the dimension of space in big cities: This piece was not inspired by a contemporary artist, however it was more inspired by the Parisian street illustrations that can be often seen at the back of postcards. This influence is relevant, as postcards are a big part of the big city cliché for tourists. It was made with acrylic paint. The straight geometrical lines were achieved with a thin flat brush.
Sculpted Tranquility (January/2024)
Charcoal on paper
27 x 42cm
This piece was made to exhibit the deterioration in south eastern asian culture, it was made on large paper with chalk and charcoal. I was mainly inspired by traditional thai budha sculptures. My main focus in the piece was the influence and importance of floral aspects in the sculpture and what that suggests about the culture.
