I have spent the last 3 years spanning from 2019-2022 developing a body of work titled Absorption, wherein I have been painting scenes from the inside of people’s homes from around Australia. Some of these people I knew prior, but the majority are complete strangers who I convinced to let me peer into their homes, most with the email subject “May I paint you?” And as it turns out, few people say no to being a muse.
Absorption
I didn’t always explain right away that I wouldn’t be painting them, but rather their stuff. The seemingly insignificant corners of mess that you’re often unaware you keep. Your bathroom cabinet, your kitchen benchtop, or your bedside table. They say a lot about your beliefs, your personality, and your rituals. I call them Indirect Portraits.
There are no strict criteria as to who I ask to be my subjects, they just have to be interesting to me. And in all honesty, most people are interesting if you’re willing to really listen. This entire project has been about finding the sacred in the mundane, the moments of awe all around us that we dismiss so easily, the great novels being written right under our noses.
