Clare McFarlane’s beautiful paintings are multi-layered explorations of cultural structures, history, patterns, beauty, craftsmanship and her Australian feminine identity. They evoke memories of the past by drawing on the lyrical patterns of the William Morris Company (founded in the 1860s in England) combined with the detailed depiction of birds, butterflies, insects and plants native to Australia. Clare stated that the appearance of these Australian elements “is sudden; arriving or emerging from a Victorian sense of beauty and nature – tamed and domesticated – in structured patterns.” She views these patterns “as a metaphor for a romanticised past that influences the social and cultural constructions of feminine identity and the search for an Australian identity. Whereas Australian identity is commonly represented in the masculine, my work offers a ‘feminine’ perspective.”

Her work also references the collection and examination of natural specimens, particularly those of the 19th century when theories of evolution stimulated scientific research and much debate. She noted that “many wealthier and/or educated men would indulge in the pastime of collecting natural specimens and curious cultural objects, some with pretensions to scientific endeavour, others making important observations and others still as a symbol of status.” These collections were often called 'cabinets of curiosity'. The detailed depiction and collection of specimens, especially flora, was also taken up by educated women during this period. Clare’s work pays a gentle homage to these women, their work and their domestic interiors.

Many of the flora and fauna depicted in this exhibition of small-scaled paintings are from Clare’s own humble collection, gathered over many years as objects of curiosity in shape and form. Others are from her collection of photographs depicting specimens and collections thereof. Many of Clare’s own specimens have become damaged through age and accident. She collects only the already dead, and thus the already fragile. She has a great curiosity about the notion of collecting and the social reasons behind it. As science’s new forays into a greater understanding of the natural world continues, we are changing the way in which we look at nature and our understanding of it. She stated that, “like quantum physics, in observing a particle, we inherently change the nature of that particle. I have used the aesthetic of the scientific specimen to some degree to enhance this notion of scientific enquiry, but it is also a cultural practice, this method of understanding and observing, which colours all our ideas of the natural object.”

Clare is an emerging artist who has a Masters and an Honours Degree in Fine Art from Curtin University, where she recently also completed her Graduate Diploma in Cultural Heritage. This is her second solo exhibition. Her work can be found in the City of Perth Collection, Cruthers Collection, John Curtin Collection, Joondalup Hospital, Bureau of Statistics, and Alinta Gas.

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