JENNY REDDIN - CONSEQUENCES
From my home in the Yarra Valley, I see every day the changes that occur in our landscape. The accumulation of these changes, these consequences, of both human and climatic actions, are painted in the detail of the landscape, in the stories it tells, in the minute and infinite detail.
These details and stories evoke in me a visceral response and my art channels this through the expression of the emotion that presents as a result of cataclysmic events such as bushfires, floods, soil erosion, habitat loss, extinction of species and environmental degradation.
Each of these events occur as a result of a burst of energy that causes a change, resulting in consequences that are random, uncontrolled, unexpected; sometimes catastrophic. There is often beauty in the chaos, but always impact - whether for the short, or potential long term. These are not only earth changing events, regardless of how seemingly small, but actually quiet significant in shaping the story of the land, and all the consequences that follow.
As I produce artworks I am consciously recreating these cataclysmic scenarios where I drown the canvas in viscous solutions of solvents, medium and pigments. I use gravity as my paintbrush, manipulating the surface to repel or attract pigment as it falls out of solution.
This method of painting often fails to achieve an aesthetic result and I know when the event’s integrity has not been rightfully represented which sees me rip the canvas from the support and start again. There is no covering up or painting over, just like the events the artwork represents.
I feel the artwork is reminiscent of aerial photography of monumental landscapes, or of bodies, body parts and internal landscapes. I deliberately strive to achieve a partially reflective surface so that the viewer is absorbed into the landscape in a way that engages the audience as a reminder of our involvement in shaping our world and our environment.