ART AND CULTURE
Georges River Artist in Residence program
Lauren McCartney, Drip, 2021
The 2021 Artist in Residence program has provided a unique creative platform for four diverse artists including: Lauren McCartney, Keila Terenico, Louisa Chircop and Sandra Winkworth. Whilst each artist works in unique and different ways, all have recognised the importance of such a space for creative development. Lauren McCartney used her residency to continue to explore a body of work she had started in 2020. Interested in visually capturing the pressure she felt as a woman during COVID--19, Lauren produced a series of still life photographs of domestic objects which she then stuffed with dough. Dough is a familiar material for Lauren, drawn to the
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textures and forms dough creates; the way in which it rises and expands; secreting and changing. The combination of dough and objects created these beautiful and grotesque still life images, a fusion of the domestic space and representations of forbidden female flesh, excess and indulgence. Photographs produced during this residency will become part of a solo exhibition in 2022. ‘I thoroughly enjoyed the time I [spent] in the space. Being able to look out over the river helped my creative process, as did being completely alone for days at a time. It was a very peaceful experience.’ said Lauren.