WOMEN OF THE WEST 2023

BELONGING AND BECOMING…

To coincide with International Women’s Day 2023, a selection of twenty-three West Australian women artists showcase their new or continued direction in Women of the West: 23 Artists in 23.

This exhibition builds on a theme initiated in 2017 and harnesses a distillation of emotions that celebrate a sense of belonging and becoming, whilst simultaneously revealing resilience to the fragility of life.

Extraordinarily talented women from diverse cultures give voice, form and colour to their internal and external landscapes, sharing their very personal

stories to identify with the past, acknowledge responsibility for the present and project hope for future generations.

It has been so rewarding to curate this exhibition without any constraint of theme, scale or medium. Much of an artist’s soul is revealed in the process of making. Women of the West highlights each artist’s unique approach and how they communicate their diverse reflections on place and space.

Karen Shirley

Linton&Kay Galleries, Curator: WOW2023

LINTON & KAY GALLERIES / WOW 2023

WOW 2023 WOMEN OF THE WEST

7 - 30 MARCH 2023

The exhibition will be officially opened by: Fiona Hick - Chief Executive Officer, Fortescue Metals

Welcome to Country by Senior Noongar woman: Emeritus Professor Colleen Hayward AM

Event Host: Miranda Brown - General Manager, Linton&Kay Galleries

WOMEN OF THE WEST 2023 FEATURED ARTISTS:

Jacinda Bayne

Claire Beausein

Mikaela Castledine

Jo Darvall

Isabelle De Kleine

Kate Debbo

Samantha Dennison

Jenni Doherty

Kate Dolan

Pippin Drysdale

Joanne Duffy

Kate Elsey

Sue Eva

Roslyn Hamdorf

Magda Joubert

Bec Juniper

COVER: Detail of ‘Mookatite And The Station’ by Bec Juniper

Sarah Keirle

Kiara Rechichi-Baker

Stephanie Reisch

Aileen Sandy

Melissa Sandy

Sandy Schroder

Jean Sher

63x109cm

‘Mantle’ refers to the patterns and lace-like surface textures of some desert regions of WA being the result of the creative forces of nature. On another level it speaks of feminine creativity bubbling forth. I make my paper from cotton rags and it is quite textured. I form holes in the paper, adding a lacy feel to the work.

Precariously beautiful oil on linen

137x112cm

The intensity of colour reflecting the heat and light of the Pilbara is breathtaking to paint. I often find myself thinking about what these colours mean as I paint them. I try to express in colours the fragility of this ancient landscape, how dangerous it can be to explore whilst looking so incredibly beautiful. I use colour that can be both harmonious and slightly unsettling.

JACINDA BAYNE

CLAIRE BEAUSEIN Mantle watercolour on hand formed cotton rag paper

89x83cm

The Boranup Forest is a special place which has experienced the devastating impacts of fire and more recently shows more hopeful signs of regeneration. This work ‘Sounds of life’ comes from the time I have spent working in the forest directly recording my observations and feelings.

MIKAELA CASTLEDINE

Valerie and the lost baby

synthetic raffia, timber and found objects 35x10x10cm

‘Valerie and the lost baby’ honours my still born sister, about whom my mother never spoke. Heirloom is a collection of work which honours the debt we owe to our ancestors both near and far. The work speaks of memory, genetic legacy and family lore; what part they play in shaping our lives, what we leave behind us when we die and what we carry with us into the dark.

JO DARVALL Sounds of life oil on canvas

100x134cm

For this show I wanted to make a painting that depicted a family of horses: embracing, nurturing and interconnected. They are multifaceted and entwined but simultaneously letting go and separating. This is a poem for my daughter who is leaving the nest to become all that she can be.

ISABELLE DE KLEINE

Until the white rose blooms again watercolour, gouache and acrylic on paper 140x110cm

‘Until the white rose blooms again’ is an emotionally driven work that explores the feeling of existing in a liminal space, longing for the impossible. It is of the loss and reformation of the self, the vulnerability felt in the absence of love and the hope for a new reality.

KATE DEBBO Becoming oil on canvas

JENNI DOHERTY

Precious little treasures mixed media on canvas

90x150cm

My practice grows in new ways as I age. Time is running out, not only for me, but for the entire world. In this series I have been looking at ‘Precious little treasures’, wildflowers found in this state. They, like many other things are at risk, so tiny and so delicate, often missed. They are only around for a short time each year to remind us of their beauty and fragility.

SAMANTHA DENNISON

Peach blossom, latte cup and pod vase oil on canvas

50x50cm

My still life paintings reveal ideas of stillness and space in the details of the everyday. My practice draws on my background as an art teacher, potter and parent living and working in a regional community, as well as my interest in objects and how they contain and convey narrative.

PIPPIN DRYSDALE

Cotton candy -

Breakaway series IV 2023

porcelain closed forms with coloured glazes

Three components 32 to 24cm

Pippin Drysdale’s porcelain installation

‘Cotton candy’ evokes memories of summer holidays with its optimistic palette. Referencing the Car Boyd Ranges and Kununurra, the frivolous title belies Drysdale’s concerns for the environment.

“Cotton fields”, says Drysdale, “are irrigated with vast amounts of water, require extensive land-clearing and have far-reaching impacts on the environment and local communities.”

KATE DOLAN

Heron

mixed media on canvas

160x130cm

‘Heron’ is a focal point for a beautiful autumn day I spent visiting Len Howard Reserve. Stillness and calm across the whole estuary: I observed it from a weathered walkway.

KATE ELSEY Self portrait as a wildflower oil on linen

150x100cm

My studies of nature are extremely personal. I was initially inspired by a Jacana nest at first light whilst in Kakadu. As I worked the painting a humanness emerged and became far more than what we see. It became about our relationship with nature…. A painting of me I thought.

JOANNE DUFFY Passing front oil on linen

60x60cm

My landscapes are often an analogy for status of the human condition. We weather the storms we constantly confront. Constantly being tested, we find and endure challenges.

ROSLYN HAMDORF

Castle Rock with trees oil on canvas

122x92cm

Climbing steeply through shaded Karri forest, you emerge to find these great ancient granite domes of the Porongurups, Minang Noongar Land.

SUE EVA

And here it begins acrylic on canvas

58x77.5cm

This painting continues my exploration of the historically feminine space of still life and the objects and vessels that endure through history and connect us, both through routine and repetition.

BEC JUNIPER

Mookatite and the station mixed media on canvas

180x180cm

Water flowing over the desert and finding its way into water holes is a very West Australian experience. On a recent visit to the Kennedy Ranges, I stayed at Mardathuna station, it’s littered with Mookatite rock. Mooka means running waters. When rain falls over the flat surface of the Mookatite rock, the colours become extremely bright, the water spreading out like a veil, reflecting the sky. This optic magic often happens in the outback; a paradoxically harsh and breathtakingly beautiful natural world.

MAGDA JOUBERT

Bush crystal acrylic on canvas

130x140cm

Abstracted forms of man-made objects meet close-up details of shapes reminiscent of Western Australia’s unique flowers, seedpods and landscape. I create settings which are a combination of still life objects and nature. This vibrant and gestural work is almost like a meeting place, like having a picnic in King’s Park Botanical Garden. It aims to conjure up memories of place.

Water ribbons

watercolour and aquarelle on paper dia.38.5cm

‘Water ribbons’ explores the Venice lagoon. A treasured companion, she is the dynamic breath of the city, ever changing and reflecting the world around her. Her profound complexity holds immense beauty.

SARAH KEIRLE

Silver Princess gumnut ceramics - Raku

7.5x13.5x7.5cm

Silver Princess (Gungurru – Eucalyptus caesia) is the crowning glory of the granite country of the WA Wheatbelt. Her shimmering silver effects draw you to look closer amongst the smooth white weeping branches of blueish grey foliage to the jewels of silvery white bells ready to burst; the princess-in-waiting is strong and resilient, graceful and elegant – a true Woman of the West.

KIARA RECHICHI-BAKER

AILEEN SANDY

Colours through the rocks

acrylic and texture on canvas

90x110cm

In the evening sunset of the Pilbara, you will see beautiful colours changing across the face of the rocks. Red, purple, shades of blue and blue black complimenting the soft spinifex growing through the country. The patterns represent the layers of rock made up of iron ore and other minerals. It gives me great joy in knowing that I am painting people a different perspective of my beautiful country.

STEPHANIE REISCH

King tide oil on canvas

120x120cm

‘King tide’ is an interpretation of an exceptionally large swell that occurs on a new or full moon. Borrowing from the colours of our WA oceans and reefs, it alludes to hidden cosmic alignments, interconnectedness and the ability to find beauty and harmony within chaos.

SANDY SCHRODER

Shy burnt paper, watercolour and gold leaf 55x27cm

“Shy I turn away Would they think less of me if everything is shown?

My shiny camouflage falls”

MELISSA SANDY

Fortescue spinifex acrylic and texture on canvas 91x182cm

Our country is covered with spinifex. In the old days our elders would grind the spinifex seeds to make flour to make into damper. We work together, even as artists, surrounded by family. We thrive on each other. That’s why we’re strong, as artists, because we help one another through.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Executive

Late evening light of estuary

oil on canvas

40x40cm

Light sets a mood for me. It changes the landscape in so many ways, and in my painting of an estuary at dusk, I feel it can become a meditative time for me, and the viewer. I enjoy looking for light, even if it’s a highlight in the dark which provides a wonderful contrast.

JEAN SHER

Fiona Hick Chief

Officer, Fortescue Metals

Emeritus Professor

Colleen Hayward AM

Image: Russell James OAM