Francesca Petr
Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts
LETTERS TO THE UNWRITTEN
Painting
Mixed materials on board
My body of work represents the cathartic nature of consuming and writing literature. It was inspired by my inability to be vulnerable verbally but, counterintuitively, being able to communicate ideas through short stories and poems, despite my reluctance to share them. I further investigated the tension between vulnerability and finding comfort within art by fragmenting, destroying, layering and cutting apart my own written work. The dynamic contrast between backgrounds and portraits, in both materials and techniques, highlights the dissonance between myself and the stories. We must learn to write and explore the fears that we would love to leave unwritten.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Rosalie Gascoigne, Frida Kahlo.
Marker's Commentary
Letters to the Unwritten portrays a personal mindset that is elaborated and sensitively sustained throughout the three painterly portraits. Conceptually, the body of work knowingly uses the artist herself as subject matter, following in the rich influences throughout the history of this genre as a glimpse into the psyche of the artist. The portraits examine the notion of self-portraiture and a personal relationship with writing and literature and a willingness to overcome her experiences throughout the body of work. There is a strong connection between the material and conceptual practice, using fragmentation and visual clues from the immediate environment, through mixed media and creative compositional placement. The contemplative expression of each portrait is highly considered and conceptually meaningful layered with the psychological interplay of fear, uncertainty and vulnerability.