mixed media

2023: Precarious times

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This is the third major project for my Studio 2 course, as part of the Master of Fine Art program. This large scale, mixed-media installation exemplified the use of a conceptual framework and iterative installations to progressively develop work, and through the process suggest regenerative possibilities.

It was designed to warn of the accelerating impact of climate change while signalling the redemptive possibilities of nature. The final installation evolved from an earlier Studio 2 animation in which tumbling shapes suggested the use of a vertical flip book to convey time and motion in two dimensions. 

The concept was framed along cartography, calligraphy and oceanography lines, as exploratory prompts. This framework underpinned the project’s expansion over experimental installations as I effectively terraformed the Gossard space (coincidently a technique suggested by Donna Haraway as a way to rejuvenate our vulnerable planet, in her book Staying with the trouble : making kin in the Chthulucene). 

Photograph by Elizabeth Cole of final installation of Precarious times, view 1 on 12 October 2023. Acrylic on 250 and 640 gsm paper, sizes variable. Wood painted white and portable white projector. 2023.

Photograph by Elizabeth Cole of final installation of Precarious times, view 2 on 12 October 2023. Acrylic on 640 gsm paper, sizes variable, shapes made from plaster, wax, wood. 2023.
Photograph by Elizabeth Cole of final installation of Precarious times, view 3 on 12 October 2023.
Acrylic on 640 gsm paper, 56 x 76 cm, Shapes made from plaster, wax, wood. 2023.

2020: Resilient Women Travellers Series Two

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In reaction to COVID-19 restrictions, I escaped lock down as an armchair traveller, with a fascination for historical exploration of the Silk Road and its surrounds.  In particular, I focussed on the outsiders, those travellers who pushed the boundaries of societal and cultural expectation to forge their own paths. The Resilient Women Travellers Series Two presents six European travellers to Central Asia between 1860 and 1930:

  • Isabella Bird (1831-1904)
  • Mildred Cable (1878-1952)
  • Alexandra David-Neel (1868-1969)
  • Mary Gaunt (1861-1942)
  • Ella Maillart (1903-1997)
  • Janet Wulsin (1894-1963)

The faceless images and use of aged, abandoned books reflect the erosion of our memory of them over time. The text overlay encapsulates their amazing life stories. These women defied convention to live extraordinary lives of intrepid travel. 

# Resilient women 2018

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I have manipulated the paintings of Bird, Cable and David-Need to give the images a contemporary context, with a ‘headline’ that to me summarises their life story. For the viewer to ponder.

The mapping narrative – from A to Z

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A recent project involved creating a map of a journey from A to Z (actually from work to VCA for class). I approached my project from the conceptual  rather than the literal level, drawing on the journey of exploration implicit in attending art school. The work incorporates classic exploration symbols such as the much folded map, the pith helmet and the resultant book….

In creating this work I was inspired by the work of Matthew Cusick and Joao Machado, both of whom work with maps as the ‘palette’ from which to create images.

IMG_4980

NWOP 2014- my entry

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I have entered the National Works on Paper competition run by the fantastic Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery. My artist statement is here:

  • My practice focuses on the construction of self identify, and the role that memories (real or imagined, personal or appropriated) serve to shape that identity, whether for our ‘real life’ or the life we wish for.   I am currently exploring this theme by examining my own fascination with European travellers to Central Asia between 1890 and 1920. Why did these people effectively exile themselves in foreign lands? Why do their stories resonate with me? Is it the vicarious opportunity to reinvent oneself or a proven means of escape? The six part work ‘Armchair Traveller’ illustrates a fabricated set of engagements between myself and two such groups of explorers (a male archaeologist and trio of female missionaries), based on images from their travel books.  The techniques used (layering, transparency, and abstraction) reflect the fragmentary and illusionary nature of memory.

The entered work is shown below:

Cole_Elizabeth_ArmchairTraveller

Updated virtual layers- the magic of Magic Eraser!

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The following images are a continuation of a theme explored earlier in a post ‘Virtual layers‘. New composite images have been created, and previous images have been enhanced and reworked. Industrial strength ‘Magic Eraser’ was used to remove tone and enhance the transparency. Drafting film has been used to add a filmic transparent quality. Watercolor and lithographic crayon have also been used to highlight features.

 

Optical illusions- powered by acrylic transfers

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I have recently been experimenting with the optical effects of acrylic transfers. I have used recent photocopies, transparencies and a great acrylic medium (Golden Soft Gel Gloss) to create a range of images. Examples are shown below: