 |
Alex Davern |
|
Skye Targett – Nadia
The painting submitted is of Ms Nadia Mahjouri (b. Geelong, Australia,1976). Nadia is a lifelong friend of the artist. She has been an inspiration, managing to balance the demanding roles of both mother and academic. Her Scottish, Tasmanian and Moroccan heritage combine the very old and the new elements alive in Tasmania today. Nadia has an eight-year-old son, Ali. She represents the situation of the modern woman. At 31, Nadia holds the position of Executive Officer for the Human Research Ethics Committee, a joint venture between the Department of Health and Human Services and the University of Tasmania. Nadia grew up and was schooled in Launceston and is currently undertaking her PhD in philosophy and bio-ethics at UTAS. She has studied at Berkley University in San Francisco, USA, under renowned feminist philosopher Judith Butler and has a specific interest inbio-ethics relating to reproductive technologies. My friendship with her has developed since school days. I have been amazed by the changes that have taken place in this time. She has succeeded in both family and career as well as maintaining a vibrant social life. And while life holds the ups and downs it does for all of us, her irrepressible sense of positivity has remained a source of inspiration to me. The reductive style of the painting is a comment on the different elements that go to make someone up; that we are more than the sum of our parts. There remains a truth about a person that may only be discovered through the development of a relationship with that person. In this painting I am happy that from a distance it is possible to make out the face and hence the person, while by being simply a collection of painted squares it has a strong abstract nature.
|
