The big sister
Sarah Davis
910mm x 610mm /
Painting
This artwork is available for purchase. Please contact the exhibiting gallery for details
As a storm rolled in, Mum would gather the clothes off the line. Gum leaves swept up in gusts of wind would hurl around us as we ran in circles. Throwing ourselves to the ground pretending ‘Mum’s tree’ had fallen on us. ‘It’s us vs the world.’ I grew up under a gum tree in Miles, a ‘townie’. I grew up making homes for lady beetles with my sister in the yard while our parents argued inside. I grew up throwing house paint at furniture while my sister flipped and kicked on the trampoline. The reality of my rural upbringing is that I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. I was a big sister.
Curator’s Comment
This is a well-resolved work which shows a strong illustrative style. It has an emerging sense of depth and layering, which is particularly effective at the points in which the spray-painted background is revealed. The imagery oscillates between playful and ominous, and this results in an engaging visual tension. To maximise this approach, you could consider increasing the use of silhouettes and/or negative space to instil variance across the picture plane.
About the artist
Sarah Davis is a colourful artist living and working in the Western Downs who practises a multitude of medias. From acrylic paint to sculpture, Davis creates well balanced, yet chaotic visual stories often exploring her own struggles with mental illness. Davis’ playful and ironic works are deeply moving and aim to raise awareness.