The Studio

‘The Studio’ is from my second solo exhibition, ‘Recurring Locations 2’. ‘Recurring Locations 2’ is the second instalment of an ongoing series of paintings of places that I repeatedly visit within my dreams. Each time I dream of one of these locations, the story line differs but the details of the place remains the same. I often forget about a location until something in my daily life randomly reminds me of it and it all comes rushing back to me like a bizarre form of déjà vu. Sometimes, I also find myself day dreaming about them.

I know for a fact that I have never been to any of these locations in real life but because I dream about them over and over again, they feel so familiar. I start questioning myself. There’s a blurred line between what’s real and what’s not, that I needed to explore and physically document within my paintings. Relying on snippets of imagery in my head with varied levels of detail has challenged my usual process and the execution of my paintings

Follow

My work revolves around themes of identity within a certain place and time. It depicts everyday scenes, questioning purpose and direction as well as empty landscapes which allow much needed time to reflect.

Amber Simon is an emerging artist living in Sydney. Born in Tamworth NSW, she moved to Sydney in 2012 to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Sydney College of the Arts, majoring in painting. At the very end of her degree she had a major health scare and instead of going back to complete her studies once she was well, she started a business painting murals for companies in the city.

After a few years she missed painting for herself and the creative freedom that came with it so she started focusing on her own work again. She has exhibited in a number of local group exhibitions, at The Other Art Fair in 2018 and had her first solo show, ‘Reoccurring Locations’ at Gaffa Gallery in 2020 which was affected by the COVID-19lockdowns. Amber was also a finalist in The Shirl Youth Portrait Prize in 2017, won The People’s Choice Award in The Mission to Seafarers MaritimeArt Prize in 2020 and was a finalist in The Hornsby Art Prize in 2022.