Poppy

'Poppy' is part of my 'Memoryscapes' series, where the forms are conjured from remembered landscapes of places I have lived in or visited. My memories and emotions mingle with the memories contained within the land itself, layers of story harboured in the soil like geological strata.

The work is rich with textures of natural materials - wood shavings and sand. It is a sculpture that can be hung on the wall: the emphasis is on colour, texture and form, and the emotions that these evoke.

This piece has a high-quality frame of natural oak.

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I grew up in Leicester in the UK's industrial Midlands, and my restlessness and curiosity took me to London and Budapest before I finally found my place in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. I have always loved making art and expressing myself creatively through images and words. After a youth mis-spent working as a Chartered Accountant, I finally earned my freedom and was able to pursue a creative life. At first my focus was on drawing and photography, but in 2018 I completed a course in Painting Techniques at the Victorian College of the Arts, and fell in love with the possibilities of paint. The following year I began painting professionally under the name Dorian.

My father was a Hungarian refugee and his story, together with my own migration journey, inspire me to create paintings that evoke echoes of place, memory and time. My emotionally expressive works layer photographs, newspaper and other materials beneath the paint. I often include dirt or sand in my paintings to express ideas of home, and to reflect on what it means to be Australian.

Visits to my studio on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung country are welcome, by arrangement.