KARYN FEARNSIDE ARTIST STATEMENT October 2015

Karyn Fearnside is an Australian mixed-media artist residing in Canberra. Karyn always enjoyed drawing and painting when she was a child and was considered by her peers to be the best artist they knew. (wink) She received her first camera at the age of ten from her father whilst living in Kathmandu, Nepal. The camera was a fascinating device with a pop out lense and lots to figure out before taking a shot. Her dad used to organise competitions for her and her friends to encourage them to take interesting photographs.

In 1994 Karyn was accepted into the Canberra School of Art, part of the Australian National University to study Textiles. Textiles is a wonderful discipline as it covers so many areas, painting, drawing, 3D as well as the traditional techniques of weaving, tapestry and printing. Karyn made large scale cow carcasses out of tablecloths for her final work and exhibited them as an installation commenting on the fact that people don’t think about where the packaged meat from the supermarket comes from, let alone how it got there.

She left with first class honours and an Emerging Artist Support Scheme award which resulted in her first solo exhibition, “Stunting” in 1998. From here she exhibited in several group shows, and then, she had children……

In 2013 she got her first digital SLR, this camera was the impetus she needed to begin creating her own artwork again – suddenly she was able to do something that didn’t require much space and she set to work using her immediate surroundings and her computer to create new work.

During 2014 she had her second solo exhibition “Salsa” which explored the humble skeletal tomatillo husk through drawings and paintings which then became backgrounds for photographs that included the actual skeletal husk. The resulting images became giclee prints on museo max which suited the works perfectly.

In May 2015 she had her 3rd solo exhibition, “WeatheRED” which explored the connection the artist feels to her mother through her own daughters red hair. Karyn’s mother died when she was ten and was one of two red haired daughters, years later, Karyn has two red headed daughters. The work explores the veil between our world and the world of spirit through the use of photographs that are manipulated on the computer to produce images that remind one of stains you might see on mildewy wallpaper and the human trait of pareidolia, seeing what appears to the individual to be a face, figure, or form in wood grain, smoke, shadows, or any non-homogeneous area. The Virgin Mary on a piece of toast for example.

Karyn also created small intimate vessels out of the family’s hair.

Karyn is also exploring constructed or staged photographs. The work of Joel Pieter-Witkin was a favourite of a fellow student whilst at art school, and she helped him with a few of his photo shoots, more recently she was introduced to the work of Alexia Sinclair and Karyn decided to make her own photographic compositions that would fit somewhere between the macabre work of Joel Pieter-Witkin and the overly perfect/beautiful work of Alexia Sinclair. Whilst Karyn’s images display a richness of colour, texture and pattern complimenting the sense of narrative, there is also a sense of grittiness. A young girl wishes for wings her outstretched fingers end in long twigs, the fairy godmother labours behind the scenes.

Another interest for Karyn is the ability of the camera to provide detail of an object in macro for example a flower, allowing the viewer to experience it differently, this may be as simple as minimising the background distraction. It could be an extreme close up showing the object in an unusual way encouraging a deeper appreciation by the viewer.

Defamiliarisation or ostranenie is the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance perception of the familiar.

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https://www.facebook.com/KarynFearnsideArtwork/

And see my website: www.karynfearnside.com

Portfolio: