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The Church Gallery is very pleased to present an exhibition of new work by emerging artists Emily Mabee and Serena McLauchlan. Both are recent honours graduates from Edith Cowan University and have also shared a studio residency at PICA. Their work is linked by an interest in the physical process of creating paintings. They both use very unusual techniques that have resulted in an extraordinary exhibition.

Serena works by pouring thin layers of coloured wax onto her boards, resulting in luminous panels that both reveal and obscure the workings of the previous layers.

Serena stated that,
The process in my work explores the area between painterly visual logic and the arbitrary nature of the painting process. Translucent encaustic layers are poured onto the surface to effect previous layers of paint and colour. They conceal/reveal scraped back areas of working, or burn the paint into another wet layer. Each decision is based on visual logic, formal concerns and an aim to create paintings which push the possibilities of the painting process.

The scale of these works invites the viewer to look closely at the paintings individual construction history, however when viewed in sequence, added structures and readings occur.

Serena also noted that the monochromic “nature of these paintings may have specific references to colour as object, or evoke general memory/sensory experiences of place, taste or smell.” This can also be said of Emily’s paintings. In one series of works she carves tendrils of paint out from the surface of her multi-layered, monochromatic paintings, creating extraordinary effects. ‘Delicious’, is a word that springs to mind when viewing the translucent, red streamers of paint that gently fall like a fringe from one work. In another, an orange cluster of spaghetti-like paint oozes from the centre of the painting, revealing the yellow foundation coats of paint beneath like a sunburst.

In a second series of small artworks Emily literally weaves thin strands of paint to create abstract patterns of crosses and stars within the work. These works cross the boundaries of traditional painting and begin to enter the realm of textiles.

Emily stated that,
I am investigating the plastic properties of acrylic paint. Exploring the medium’s unique strength, flexibility, transparency and luminosity. My three dimensional works explore the relationship between the painting and the gallery space containing it. I’m highlighting the control of gravity and light over the materiality of the work.

*prices valid 2003