Mia Sidney
Burwood Girls High School
MOMENTS BEYOND THE MOMENTARY; TO A TIME OF PERPETUAL WONDER
Painting
Oils, acrylic, charcoal on wood
My body of work was inspired by the idea that childhood experiences only exist temporarily but simultaneously transcend time through memory. Representing my younger sister at times when she was so absorbed in the wonder of the moment that she was almost enclosed within a world of her own, my work examines the single moments of heightened expression that may act to trigger memories. Each piece expresses a unique story, with the charcoal figures in the background representing how, with the transient nature of memory, some recollections inevitably fade and fragment.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Pilar Lopez Baez, Las risas, Los dias antiguos, La identidad sentida, El baile de las niñas; Casey Baugh.
Marker's Commentary
Moments Beyond The Momentary; To a Time of Perpetual Wonder is a highly resolved and engaging suite of paintings demonstrating expertly controlled and sensitive practice. Careful observation and confident manipulation of the rich colour in the faces and clothes is combined with expressive and gestural mark making in the background and bottom row of panels to communicate a sense of childlike joy. The convention of naturalism is used to execute the three children caught in moments of carefree wonder. Expressive halos of gestural brushstrokes in colours and codes across the panels, evoke the mood and experience of each child, as they swirl around to effectively unite the panels and lead us through the work. Nostalgic memories are further reiterated as we explore the naive mark making subtly embedded in the background, like memories discovered in the recesses of our minds.