Jade Abrahams
Terrigal High School
AFTER THE THINGS OF NATURE
Drawing
Charcoal and mixed media on Stonehenge
The mind is a cognitive faculty that houses the thoughts and consciousness of an individual. I was inspired by the metaphysical concept of mind–body dualism that claims that the mind and the body are two distinct and separable factors. I have explored this dualism through psychological portraits, one physical and one non-physical, representing the impossibility of grasping the magnitude of our mind as it elaborates on itself continually. Thus, going further than biological knowledge, I challenge our perceptions of truly knowing those closest to us. I have used a mixed media approach to capture the complexities of the mind.
My artmaking practice has been influenced by the study and interpretation of the following artists: Eric Lacombe, KwangHo Shin, Ben Quilty, Mathieu Laca.
Marker's Commentary
After the Nature of Things is curated across four images that delve beneath the surface, both literally and figuratively, resulting in a series of unsettling and compelling portraits of the subjects. Conventional approaches to drawing in the portrait genre are combined with more experimental textured layering of surfaces and the introduction of imagery from the biological and technological world. Framed centrally and looking out passively, the subjects seem at the mercy of the onslaught of the natural and man-made elements, merged into their body, soul and minds. Questions of consciousness with the “what lies under our skin” and machinations of our psyche are raised and left unanswered provocatively for the audience.
