AVERY LAWRANCE

My drawings are influenced by the inhabitants of the natural worlds that surround us and the large, unrelenting amount of media we are exposed to on a daily basis. Themes of nature and life are depicted in the subject matter of my work. I am enraptured by the visual motifs and symbolisms of feathers and talons, of teeth and fur, of scales and fins. I depict marine, terrestrial, arial and insect life, creatures from various domains in my work, to explore their mysterious forms and secrets, to connect and resonate, living thing to living thing. Throughout my work I take inspiration from artists such as Peter Deligdisch, through his understanding of line and shape. As well as Lauren Marx, her animal subject matter, set in beautiful and macabre tableaus.

My passion lies in traditional art, particularly in Chinese painting and calligraphy. Despite the various modern artistic styles and diverse painting communities present today, Chinese painting has retained its allure, even though it has undergone considerable changes.

In my artwork, I blend traditional symbols with my individual style, and I am actively engaged in experimenting with integrating Western art concepts of colour and composition into the fundamentals of traditional Chinese ink wash.

Inspired by Wu Guanzhong's use of bold stokes and bright colour, and Zhao Wuji's abstract and expressionist style, as well as both masters' ability to combine traditional Chinese painting techniques with Western modernism, I strive to create my distinct style of contemporary art, rooted in the essence of traditional Chinese art.

My area of focus points to the different configurations of relationships between humanity, the environment and nature.

Landscapes are the result of our human interventions on the territory. We construct the landscape, as well as the concept itself. How we see and interpret landscapes is a visual and sensory process permeated by our cultural background. Therefore, all the representations of landscapes which I create, using wide perspectives of drawing are not neutral. Not even the little elements that I frenetically draw, such as grass, rocks, or leaves, are impartial; on which I overlay my culture, my experiences, my history and my interpretation.

Some visual resources that I use are threads, abstracted lines, blots, stains, soil, fabric, and so forth. Using photographic or memory references of landscapes, I spread the materials on the surfaces and wait for them to become alive. Then, when they ask for more, I try to solve the problem. And “we” can spend hours and days staring at each other, until it is concluded.

Briefly, my works are an invitation to think, together with plants, nature, and landscape, about our relationship with other forms of life. We all have the power of a continuum of becoming. The question is: Becoming what?

I am influenced by artists who draw our attention to natural spaces, such as Anselm Kiefer, Van Gogh, Barrie Cooke, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Claudia Hamerski.

Recycled paper and plastic become vehicles for a narrative, pasting, cutting, drawing, and stitching a layered story. The materials take me as the maker on a journey, where the destination is not set. Exploration and imagination are my travel companions, and somehow, as if by magic, I arrive where I need to be. My practice is strongly rooted in the natural world and through the use of sculpture, collage, and drawing, I seek to portray connections, both seen and unseen, between people, the land and things that exist inside and around us. By building layers and cutting back into them I search for the intangible, enchanting, and yet to be explored. In a world where many natural connections have been severed or severely distorted, my hope is that the work can influence, heal, and repair some of the damage.

An everlasting fascination with contrast, light and colour is sought, pursued, almost grasped, but ever elusive. Myths, legends, and folktales are constant sources of inspiration. Works are energetically influenced by sacred geometry, nature’s cycles and the works of Mark Bradford, Tomoko Fuse, Harry Clarke, Emma Kunz, and Georgiana Houghton, among many others.

Connections

I’m drawn to exploring the truths behind the human condition through grotesque, carnivalesque and abject art usually with a sense of humour and absurdity. Enjoying the beauty in the imperfect, which grew into a fascination of the deformed, mangled and even decaying bodies.

My inability to express my thoughts and feelings through words is why my art is so vital to me, being able to articulate oneself and give physical form to abstract concepts. Francis Goya, Doris Salcedo, and Alison Sommers are artists whose works have inspired my own.

Currently I’m influenced by the anatomy and autonomy of the human body, from flesh to bone and the entrails in between. As I deform the humanoid figure, bloody viscera, teeth, and bones are often reoccurring elements giving life to sculptural amalgamations. My work is emotionally charged, directed by the materials used, everchanging in the making and creating a dialogue between myself and my artwork.