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Ingrid Andersen |
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Allana Blizzard – Anxiety
For the past eight years my younger sister, Finley, has been my sole model. Initially it was my ideas and intentions that dictated my artwork. I would pose and direct her to suit my own means, she was merely a model. But in the past 18 months it has been Finley’s personal circumstances and her transition into adulthood that have influenced the direction of my artwork. Through my paintings I attempt to understand her, myself and our changing relationship. Finley has reached a major crossroads in her life, with regard to the completion of tertiary study, career choices, relationships, living arrangements, independence and family. Despite her coming of age, various doubts remain. She feels misunderstood, alienated, and unsure of herself and what may happen next. These are thoughts and feelings that she shares with few, though such uncertainties are familiar to us all. Via paint I have sought to capture a private moment of anxiety; a moment when her guard has been dropped. Finley’s anxiety is evident in both her facial expression and awkward pose. I have emphasised the sense of dislocation via the high contrast between the figure, Finley, and the interior space, the embodiment of her anxieties. In terms of stylistic representation, Finley is the most realistic aspect within the painting. In comparison, the retro styling, the use of jarring contrasting colours, the segmentation and flattening of the pictorial space, the inconsistencies in size and scale, are all indications that she does not belong within this space.
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