Ann RUSSELL

Artist Statement
"Art is the region between heaven and earth that connects the two". Mark Driscoll I am interested, as an artist in the odd spaces caught just outside of our reality; the places we occasionally glimpse whilst going about our lives, but can never grasp long enough to make concrete. Our awareness that those places exist, however transiently, helps us to deal with our reality. My recent works are depictions of such fantasy worlds, probably best described as poetic bricolage. I am using materials gleaned from years of collecting to produce new work that is able to draw on the materials and objects, yet also construct new meanings. The materials and objects are often bric-a-brac discarded by others as having lost relevance and recycled to make a different statement in new context. They are sometimes store-bought new items used in a way very different to the manufacturers intention, disposable items given permanence, and so on. Consequently, issues of contemporary life are interwoven with historical perspectives and autobiography to create works that hopefully cannot be boiled down to a single idea. In this aspect, I am greatly influenced by artists such as Shaun Tan and by contemporary works in film such as the Matrix, which explores human spirituality and transcendence by never making clear what space protagonists are actually in. The pieces are all three-dimensional sculptures, dioramas, or hanging works in relief. Surfaces are inevitably rich in colour and texture due to the bricolage technique, but also as an intentional contrast to the real world. The creation of these mini-worlds engages viewers as it resonates with a childhood fascination with make-believe. In this way, I am referring to works of other women artists: Nikki de St Phalle and her fantasy mosaic-encrusted garden, Louise Bourgeois and her compelling cells, Kate Rhode and her boxes of fantastic flora and fauna and Julia Devilles juxtaposition of jewels and precious metals with taxidermied animals and birds. Parts of my works are often under glass or Perspex and others have a clear resin coating. This is important to emphasise the separation from our reality, creates a paradox with space and time and compresses small moments of memory which are our portals to this other dimension.

Art Forms