Claire Primrose: Artist Statement & Bio

When we think of a place, we imagine it not in its entirety, but rather as integral parts; feelings and images pieced together to create the impression of a whole.

In Primrose’s practice, she mirrors this concept, the serendipitous recreation and abstraction of these views encourage our eye to piece together the changing actions of material, much like Primrose herself does so in her studio - so that we too, may feel a sense of place. She pieces together the remnants of these places; a collection of memories, samples and studies which are then reworked into the applique of paint. Through a process of layering; she scratches, sprays and applies a mixture of mediums in a way that not only conjures up feelings of awe and wonder felt only by arriving at a greatly-anticipated scenic view, but does so in a way that allows the colours, layers and gestural mark-making to actively illustrate the scene before you.

Claire Primrose is a painter who works primarily with mixed media. Primrose graduated with a BA in Visual Arts (majoring in printmaking) at ANU, Canberra, in 1997. Based in Queanbeyan, she has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Secondary Art Education and has taught both Visual Art and Dance at various high schools in Canberra for ten years. She has been represented by Stanley Street Gallery since 2015.

Primrose has participated in various group and solo exhibitions both locally and nationally; including being selected for DIRECTION NOW> national touring exhibition with 10 other artists who also focus on abstraction. She was the winner of the 2017 Waverley Art Prize – Drawing. Most recently she has been selected as a finalist in the 2019 Wyndham Art Prize, SA; the 2019 Hunters Hill Art exhibition and the 2019 Highly Commended and People’s Choice Winner in the Wingecarribee Landscape Prize, Bowral.  She has also been selected as a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize, The Fleurieu Biennale, The Kedumba Drawing Award, The Tattersall’s Club Landscape Prize, The Hawkesbury Art Prize, Morton Bay Art Prize, the Norville Art Prize, the Whyalla Art prize and most recently, the Paul Guest Drawing Award.

Claire was awarded winner of the Queanbeyan City Council Regional Art Prize in both 2009 and 2015, the Goulburn Regional Art Award in 2016 as well as the Capital Chemist Art Award Tuggeranong in 2015. She has also been awarded a Highly Commended in the Queanbeyan City Council Art Award in 2010 and the Hawkesbury Art Prize in 2012.

Claire Primrose: CV January, 2020 Download

Katherine Buljan: Artist Statement & Bio

From Myths to Beliefs (Japanese Spirituality)

World spiritualities, religions and mythologies are the themes that have been present in Katharine’s art practice since its inception. These themes are also present in her recent series of paintings; this time they have been inspired to a great extent by her theoretical research into Shinto, a Japanese native religion. Katharine did this research for the book she co-authored, titled Anime, Religion and Spirituality: Profane and Sacred Worlds in Contemporary Japan (Equinox, 2015). Her recent paintings mostly focus on stories from Shinto’s oldest texts, Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), both dating from the 8th century. This series attempts to reflect on the richness of Japanese spirituality and its emphasis on the intertwining and closeness of the real and supernatural realms.

Dreamland Magic I

This has been inspired by Japan’s longstanding belief in the importance of dream symbolism and its relation to decision-making and future of the sleeper. This belief dates back to Jomon period (about 100,000 BC – 300 BC) when it was believed that dreams where indeed controlled by spirits. Kojiki, one of Shinto’s oldest texts records that Emperor Sujin (148 BC- 29 BC) made many important decisions based on interpretation of his dreams.

Dreamland Magic II

This work belongs to the series that have been inspired by Katharine’s theoretical research into Shinto, a Japanese native religion, and its stories from Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), both dating from 8th century. This theoretical research Katharine did for the book on Japanese animation, which she co-authored with Professor Carole M. Cusack (the University of Sydney). The book is published in 2015 by Equinox, an academic publisher based in UK. Its title is Anime, Religion and Spirituality: Profane and Sacred Worlds in Contemporary Japan. Shirayuki, the Holy Horse and the Moment of Purification was inspired by old Japanese belief that if one sees a horse near Shinto’s temple will be purified of all sins. According to Shinto’s belief, a horse is a messenger between kami (divine beings) and humans. In 2013 this work was selected as a finalist for the 62nd Blake Prize for Religious Art.

About the work Spiritual Aura of Miko

This work belongs to the series that have been inspired by Katharine’s theoretical research into Shinto, a Japanese native religion, and its stories from Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon Shoki (The Chronicles of Japan), both dating from 8th century. This theoretical research Katharine did for the book on Japanese animation, which she co-authored with Professor Carole M. Cusack (the University of Sydney). The book is published in 2015 by Equinox, an academic publisher based in UK. Its title is Anime, Religion and Spirituality: Profane and Sacred Worlds in Contemporary Japan. Spiritual Aura of Miko has been inspired by miko’s (Shinto’s priestess) sacred dance called kagura. In ancient times mikos were believed to be female-shamans who had the ability to communicate with kami (divine beings or gods) and spirit world through kagura dance.

Katharine Buljan is a Sydney-based artist and scholar. She has exhibited her work in Australia, Italy, Hong Kong and Sweden. Katharine was selected to be an Artist in Residence (scheduled for 2015) at the University of Tasmania. In 2013, she was selected as a finalist for the 62nd Blake Prize for Religious Art. In 1995, Katharine was awarded a European Parchment at the XV Review of Contemporary Art in Galleria Forum Interart in Rome. Other art prizes she has won include first place in the foreign artists section at the II International Festival of Contemporary Painting in Sanremo (1994), and Plaque “Colosseum” (1993) – a prestigious Italian national art prize. Her work is in public collections in Australia and Italy and in private collections in Switzerland, Australia, Italy and Finland. Katharine was awarded a PhD from the University of Sydney in 2007 and has completed a Master of Animation at the University of Technology, Sydney (2008) and a Master of Arts (Honours) at the University of Western Sydney, Nepean in 1998. In 1993, she majored in painting (a four-year course) at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Katharine has lectured at the University of Technology, Sydney, the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and the University of Sydney. She is the co-author of the book on Japanese animation titled Anime, Religion and Spirituality: Profane and Sacred Worlds in Contemporary Japan (Equinox, 2015). Katharine is a co-founder of Studio Buljan, an animation studio based in Sydney.

Sarah Harvie: Artist Statement & Bio

I am passionate about my work and the development of new exciting visual and interactive displays. I like to see the moment when individuals abandon their ideas surrounding the object and begin to experience it in a sensory and experiential way. Sarah began making works combining the use of fabric sculptures and performance, and she moved into making inflatable artworks in 1998. This sparked an exploration and passion for the inflatable medium that has continued ever since. Her works have explored the visual, interactive and functional qualities of this medium. Sarah has also explored the use of other mediums in her artworks such as performance, photography, sound-scaping, image projection mapping and print-making, as well as utilizing a number of different materials to create her works, including, bronze, clay, glass, polyurethane and rubber. In this series of works Sarah has used a glass, urethane and bronze. The selected from a series in which the artist explored her own personal journey through grief, and her emergence into a new and changed world.

Sarah graduated in 1996 with a BA in fine art & Sculpture with Honours, from the Cheltenham & Gloucester College of Fine Art, England. Sarah is a practicing artist, represented by McLemoi Gallery, Sydney. She teaches art part-time for Reverse Garbage’s creative workshops, and Art-Est Art School Sydney. She has received both private and government grants to develop and teach art & design programs for youth and adults, and is passionate about programs that utilize creativity through play. Sarah has the ability to inspire and develop confidence in her students and facilitate the progression from play to the process of design and realisation. Sarah has over 15 years experience in the design and manufacture of inflatable sculptures. Which incorporate the visual, interactive and functional elements of the medium. She works through the entire design process from conceptualisation to the completion, as well as the installation of works. She has a wide experience of working collaboratively to realise a shared vision through the development of visual and interactive displays. She is passionate about the development of new and exciting sculptural experiences that brings people in contact with shifting perspectives. As well as her Inflatable sculptures, Sarah has worked in a variety of other mediums such as photography, live performance, spoken word, projection mapping, sound-scaping, printmaking, costume and set design, and has explored a number of different materials in her work, such as aluminium, bronze, glass, clay, wax, poly-urethane and rubber. Sarah's works have been exhibited in a range of contexts such as exhibitions, theatres, music venues, festivals on television and circus performance. She has been invited to show her works in exhibition such as Sculpture by the Sea, Australia 2005, 2011 & 2014. Florence Biennale in Florence, Italy 2007, Art of Sydney 2008 and was represented by McLemoi Gallery from 2012 - 2014.