Untitled

Jodie Nelissen

Year: 12

School: Cecil Andrews College

Medium: Indian ink and transfer medium on MDF board

Artist statement: My work is a six panel series, intended to explore the changing nature of the suburban environment in an increasingly urbanised and modern country. My point of view is uniquely Australian and focuses on Armadale, the suburb which I live in. Indian ink paintings depict recognisable Australian flora and fauna over a variety of maps of the local area which have been transferred onto MDF board.

The ideas behind my work stem from photographs of native vegetation and landscapes that I have taken of the local area as well as images of birds from the internet. I have also appropriated maps from a history book ‘First Stage South: a history of the Armadale-Kelmscott district’ and from Google Maps. The maps are sourced from various time periods, the oldest is an Armadale real estate advertisement from 1907 and the newest is from a current Google Maps screenshot of that area. These maps signify the passage of time and the extent of Armadale’s changing landscape over just a century.

The ink paintings depict what Armadale was like a century ago, they include gum blossoms, corellas, a farm paddock and a 1500 year old jarrah tree which is still standing today in the parking lot of my local shopping centre. These images represent my links to remnants of Armadale’s past and the importance of preserving the natural environment for future generations to experience.

These ink paintings are stylistically influenced by William Kentridge’s charcoal animations. Although my piece isn’t motion-based, I have created a sense of movement in the panel with the birds through repetition of line (creating the impression of flapping wings). I have also made my work visually engaging by contrasting the flat plane of the maps with the implied depth and dimension of the forms and landscapes in my ink paintings.”