2022

With a passion for light, Jane Gerrish seeks the beauty inherent in our world.  Her practice explores the boundary between figuration and abstraction, and the relationship between stillness and light. 

 

Begun during COVID-19 isolation, Perfect Impermanent was inspired by the enduring, yet ever changing, perfection of nature. On daily walks in coastal bushland, its reassuring presence proved a balm, in the face of chaos and uncertainty.

 

Nourished by the sculptural majesty of plants and seashells, tranquil reflections on calm waters soothed. Over the months the transitory cycles of the natural world demanded more scrutiny, the perfection of each stage looming large.

 

Exploring themes of perfection and impermanence, Gerrish embarked on a new drawing series.

 

Mirroring the movement of light through a studio day, her focus in Shadow  became the shifting abstract patterns cast by each plant specimen.

 

Shimmer recalls memories of light reflected on a serene sea. Depicting a unique mood and temperature, each tiny abstraction is built up over time, in many layers.

 

Finally in Weather, Gerrish observed the proud beauty of earned imperfection. Elegant white forms emerge from the darkness, scarred, and sculpted by the process of ageing and experience gained.

 

During the drawing journey thoughts of systems, unity and coexistence were to inspire larger works. Composites of smaller ones, they are  ‘sum of the parts’, and speak to the character and strength of both individual and community.