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Alyson Baker drawing on personal experiences Having completed her undergraduate degree in Architecture, Alyson Baker moved to the Gold Coast at the end of 1980. Drawing and painting have always been her passion, so after working in architecture then raising a family, she began studying a Bachelor of Digital Media at the Queensland College of Art (QCA), Gold Coast part-time in 2006. For the past five years Alyson Baker has created artwork including memory boxes, textile artworks and a performance art to express the emotional turmoil of her own experience with breast cancer and pay homage to those who have had similar experiences. Close Connections uses the concept of ‘memento mori’ to depict family and extended family members as well as her own personal journey, while Common Thread was a culmination of textile art deconstructing and reconstructing the breast cancer journey. “Close Connections are seven portraits of women in my family who have been diagnosed with breast cancer,” Alyson explains. “The solar plates are exhibited with personal didactics so each individual portrait tells a story, a personal experience, an experience that the collective group has shared.”
The memory boxes unite the individuals as there is a connection through a common understanding, a deep desire to provide awareness and hope for others affected by breast cancer. “Common Thread was a culmination of textile art created as a therapy in my emotional healing,” she says. “The two pivotal artworks Mastectomy Memories and Survivor are bookends to my five-year journey. “The purpose was to deconstruct my experience, to encompass the physical and emotional struggle; with the images coming from personal memories.” During the creation of these works she has liaised with the National Breast Cancer Foundation and has also held these two solo exhibitions on the Gold Coast to raise awareness and funds to support breast cancer charities. Alyson has also created a connection with Young Pink Sisters, a support group for young women. It is through this connection that Alyson’s future direction lays, through her art she aims to advocate on behalf of young women affected by breast cancer. alyson-baker-visual-artist.com
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