The pages in this portfolio present a sample of a decade’s work. The changes over time are noticeable in both material and subject matter – from outdoor to still life, sculpture to painting. Each presents as a distinct project – lasting from a few months to a few years – as I have explored, dreamt and responded to circumstance.
In my world, objects have thoughts and feelings. Lonely vehicles wait in carparks, plaster busts gaze out the window and scraps of fabric believe they are rolling landscapes with rivers and caves. Nothing is quite as it seems.
I have included a few sketchbook pages and plein air paintings to show the workings – this is where the story comes from. Information gathering is restricted to offpeak times, when it is more likely for the shy observer to go unnoticed. Modern landscape such as carparks in the early mornings, industrial areas deserted on the weekend and shopping centres during unpopular hours. There is always plenty to see.
Torn between opposites – life and still-life, indoors and out, trying to reconcile them into one body of work isn’t easy but I suspect the subject is essentially the same: it is about looking closely to find the ambiguity in the obvious and quiet amidst the noise.
All the while, I am left wondering if the vases chat amongst themselves when the cupboard door is closed.
My studio is in the Chittering Valley, a rural area about 80km north-east of Perth, in Western Australia.
Contact: amanda@amandawilliams.com.au
I usually sign my work ‘a.a.williams’, ‘aaw’ or simply initial with ‘aw’ to try to distinguish from the many other artists, and indeed non-artists, who share the same name. It will be signed Amanda Williams on the back.
biography
| 1962 | Born UK |
| 1981 – 1982 | Science (Mathematics), University of Western Australia |
| 1983 -1988 | Contract CAD Drafting |
| 1989-2005 | Commercial art and design (print media) |
| 2005 | Sculpture, Swan TAFE |
| 2006 | Watercolour Painting, Central TAFE |
| 2006-2007 | Environmental Art and Design, Swan TAFE |
| 2010 | Bookbinding and Boxmaking, Central TAFE |
| 2007-2014 | Committee Member, Printmakers Association of WA |
| 2008-2010 | Fine Art (Painting), Curtin University |
awards
| 2008 | Mindarie Boardwalk Sculpture Festival & Awards |
| 2007 | City of Melville Sculpture Prize |
exhibitions
| 2013 | Centre for Book Arts, NY |
| 2013 | The John Rylands Library, Manchester, UK, |
| 2013 | The Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| 2011 | Of Spears & Pruning Hooks |
| 2011 | Hollow City Chronicles |
| 2009 | Underpass Motel |
| 2009 | Myths, Stories, Legends |
| 2009 | Printmakers Awards, Moores Gallery, Fremantle |
| 2009 | Observing the Human Form |
| 2009 | In Vetland, Murdoch |
| 2009 | In Vetland, Newcastle |
| 2008 | Print (Ed) |
| 2008 | Printmakers Awards, Moores Gallery, Fremantle |
| 2008 | Mindarie Boardwalk Sculpture Festival |
| 2007 | Artopia, Nedlands |
| 2007 | Charcoal City, Kurb Gallery, Perth |
| 2007 | City of Melville, Art Awards |
| 2007 | Works, Kurb Gallery, Perth |
| 2007 | Midland Art Group Inaugural Exhibition, Bank Gallery, Midland |
| 2007 | West Australian Print Media Awards, Cullity Gallery, Nedlands |
| 2007 | First Impressions, Junction Gallery, Midland |
| 2006 | Volumes, Junction Gallery, Midland |
| 2006 | Environmental 2005, Junction Gallery, Midland |