In the mid to late nineties I trained as a painter at the Queensland College of Art. During my creative life I have expanded my practice to large-scale installation, environmental works, curatorial roles and teaching. I have spent time internationally and nationally seeking out art and producing art. I draw from personal experiences: from places I've walked across; from tracts of land into which I've been a visitor; from sites I've dreamed of. These works started in my childhood, when I took long sea journeys with my mother to lands I'd only imagined, and they've continued to develop as memory-maps that also trace the parameters of global environmental anxiety. Yet they also offer refuge - images that can soothe as much as they can raise concerns.
In 2017, I commenced full time doctoral studies at the Queensland College of Art completing my Doctor Visual Art in November 2021. I feel that the history of painting adds to the intrigue and challenge of producing meaningful work in the age of the Anthropocene. Technology and global discussions are strong influences on my work with a focus on the landscape and environmental genre as the biggest concern of this time.
My process is to collect and collate images from popular culture including the internet and social media. Resulting works engage narratives and images of our time that are inspired by multiple influences from the past and present. The cause and effects of climate change and the sustainability of the planet feature in the works albeit often in an abstract or mysterious way.
Curriculum Vitae. October 2021
Paula Irene Payne
Education
2017/18/19/20/21 Doctor Visual Arts, Griffith University:
2000 Master of Visual Arts, Queensland College of Art, Griffith University
1990/91/92/93 Bachelor Visual Art/ Honours Degree, Queensland College of Art Griffith University Professional Work Experience
2000/2015 Visual Arts Teacher Southbank Institute of Technology
Research Experience
2017-21 Doctor Visual Arts, Griffith University
2000 Master of Visual Arts, Griffith University
Select Solo Exhibitions
2022 Sept. Shadowlands Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy
2022 March Landskins Beaudesert Regional Gallery, Scenic Rim Council
2021 Sept Landskins Onespace Gallery 349 Montague Road West End
2021 Jan Architecture for Unknown Worlds 111 George St, Brisbane.
2019 Sept Speaking to the Trees of New Horizons- Sculpture on the Edge, Spicers Tamarind Eco Resort, Maleny
2019 April Time and Tide, Botanica-Contemporary art outside, BCC
2019 April Whispering the Flame, Grey Street Gallery, Griffith University QCA
2018 Feb. Translations, Web Gallery, Griffith University QCA
2017 Oct World Scapes, Woolloongabba Art Gallery
2016 Jan Land and Narrative, White Canvas Gallery, Newstead
2010/11/12 Visual Arts Installations, Woodford Festival
Select Group Exhibitions
2021 Sept QCA HDR Represent a 2021 Retrospective Pop Gallery Brunswick Street
2021 April Shortlisted, Lethbridge Landscape Painting Prize, Lethbridge Gallery
2020 Nov Elaine Birmingham National Watercolour Prize; in Landscape Painting
2019 August Earthly Concerns, 22 Charlotte Street, Brisbane
2019 June She Sees, She Feels, She Makes, Beaudesert -Regional Gallery
2019 May TEN contemporary painters, White Canvas Space, Newstead
2019 April She Sees, She Feels, She Makes, Crows Nest -Regional Gallery
2019 Feb Morphosis, Flight Centre Headquarters & Grey St Gallery, Southbank
2018 Oct Right Now, Onespace Gallery, Highgate Hill, Brisbane
2018 August Inside Out, Holy Spirit Hospital, Chermside
2018 July She Sees, She Feels, She Makes, Project Gallery, Queensland College of Art
2018 July Methods and Moments, POP Gallery, Fortitude Valley
2018 July Architecture for Unknown Worlds, Narratives on Climate Change, Newcastle University; Law Faculty
2017 Nov Platform 72 , St Leonard’s, Sydney
2016 June. City Well Project, Peter Breen Projects,111 George Street
2016 Feb New Batch, Platform 72, St Leonards, Sydney
2015 Dec Atmosphere and Expressions, White Canvas Gallery
2012June From Mao to Now, The Armory, Sydney Olympic Park, Newington Sydney.
2009March Panorama, Charcoal Interiors, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia
2009 April Panorama, National Taiwan Arts University Taipei, Taiwan
Conferences Workshops
2019Sept Gympie Regional Gallery ,Facilitator of two-day Mixed media workshop Flying Arts
2019 July Beaudesert Regional Gallery, Facilitator painting workshops at Beaudesert, Boonah, and Mt Tamborine.
2018 July ‘Narratives on Climate Change Symposium’ 5-6 July 2018 ‘ New Space’ University Newcastle, (research paper published in catalogue) Paula Payne p 63
Grants and Awards
2020 Jan-Mar Artist in Residence- Mt Gravatt Studios, Griffith University
2019 Feb. Artist in Residence- Nancy Fairfax Margaret Olly Centre, Tweed Regional Gallery
2007-09 Artist in Residence- Red Gate Gallery Beijing China Artist in Residence
2006 May Artist in Residence - Taipei Artists Village
2006 March Artist in Residence Beijing studio Australia China Council
2007 Oct DFAT Grant to support traveling exhibition Process/Journey
2007 Sept. Australia China Council Grant, support for launch of Process/Journey Publication
2021 Sept Thesis document “Does Landscape Painting have the Scope to Represent the Anthropocene” Griffith University Thesis repository
2019 Sept. Art Edit Quarterly; Featured artist in conversation; spring edition 2019
2019 May Catalogue essay for TEN Contemporary Painters at White Canvas Gallery Newstead