Don't call me babe
2024
oil on board
30.5cm x 40.5cm
In this group of four works, I am investigating power dynamics, class structures, identity performance and personal histories. Carefully selected and cropped found imagery aim to illustrate the tension between the soft and hard of inner and outer worlds, and the comedy and tragedy of life today. The repeated physical construction and deconstruction of the surfaces through sanding rupture could-be perfect facades, inviting conversations about the expectations and pressures of identity performance. Each work alludes to a balance or imbalance of power, referencing restraints - whether physical or spiritual - and the ways they may govern our lives.
— Ellen Anderson
2024
oil on board
30.5cm x 40.5cm
In this group of four works, I am investigating power dynamics, class structures, identity performance and personal histories. Carefully selected and cropped found imagery aim to illustrate the tension between the soft and hard of inner and outer worlds, and the comedy and tragedy of life today. The repeated physical construction and deconstruction of the surfaces through sanding rupture could-be perfect facades, inviting conversations about the expectations and pressures of identity performance. Each work alludes to a balance or imbalance of power, referencing restraints - whether physical or spiritual - and the ways they may govern our lives.
— Ellen Anderson
2024
oil on board
30.5cm x 40.5cm
In this group of four works, I am investigating power dynamics, class structures, identity performance and personal histories. Carefully selected and cropped found imagery aim to illustrate the tension between the soft and hard of inner and outer worlds, and the comedy and tragedy of life today. The repeated physical construction and deconstruction of the surfaces through sanding rupture could-be perfect facades, inviting conversations about the expectations and pressures of identity performance. Each work alludes to a balance or imbalance of power, referencing restraints - whether physical or spiritual - and the ways they may govern our lives.
— Ellen Anderson
Ellen Anderson is Meanjin/Brisbane-based artist who creates oil paintings that explore personal identity and identity performance, with special interest in how this presents in our digital lives. Gathering pop culture references, found imagery, and personal photographs, she then employs text, cropping techniques and humour to re-contextualise the imagery. Constructing a new visual language, Anderson makes accessible yet intimate and earnest observations about the nature of our digital landscape and its effects on individual and shared realities. Her work has been exhibited across multiple artist run group shows and solo exhibitions, and is held in private collections across Australia.