Natasha Walsh
The scent of rain, 2017
oil on copper
15 x 13 cm / 25 x 22.5 cm (framed)
2017 Archibald Prize Finalist
2017 Archibald Prize Finalist
‘This self-portrait offered me a means of exploring my own mortality through the immediacy of working from life on the equally ephemeral support of copper. Additionally, it enabled me to...
‘This self-portrait offered me a means of exploring my own mortality through the immediacy of working from life on the equally ephemeral support of copper.
Additionally, it enabled me to explore the relationship between the internal sense of self and an external appearance, which can define us in another’s eyes.
I am struck by the otherness of my appearance, simultaneously familiar and strange, never seen directly but through another lens, such as a camera or a mirror. Painting enables me to claim this appearance, as the external is diffused intimately through my internal self into paint.
The imaginary impression of a cloudy sky is even more revealing of my internal self, hinting at layers brewing beneath the surface, like the threat of rain.’
Additionally, it enabled me to explore the relationship between the internal sense of self and an external appearance, which can define us in another’s eyes.
I am struck by the otherness of my appearance, simultaneously familiar and strange, never seen directly but through another lens, such as a camera or a mirror. Painting enables me to claim this appearance, as the external is diffused intimately through my internal self into paint.
The imaginary impression of a cloudy sky is even more revealing of my internal self, hinting at layers brewing beneath the surface, like the threat of rain.’