Alexandra Sloane is a contemporary artist from New South Wales, Australia.
She is the recipient of the Honourable Mention – Hound and Bone Prize at Brunswick Street Gallery’s Small Works Art Prize.
What medium(s) do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I predominantly focus on painting and drawing within my art practice. When I engage with painting, It gives me the potential to revitalise the image and reconsider the narrative. Through painting, I attempt to regain autonomy over images, especially when those images pertain to my own self and experience as a feminine subject.
Can you elaborate a little more on your making process — how does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
In the painting Cramp, I worked from a photograph I had taken whilst I was exploring awkwardness and discomfort as it arises within the performance of femininity. The photograph was taken as I was challenging and manipulating my physical body into positions of discomfort, balancing on a stool so as to create tension between my body's intentions and the movements and positions actualised. I set-up the self-timer to continuously take photos as I challenged the materiality of my body, forcing myself to endure this long and uncomfortable process of self-objectification. With these photographs, I narrowed my focus onto specific sections of the image which encapsulated the awkwardness and bodily contortion, and painted the image. Through painting, I was able to reconsider the discomfort of the performance and the awkwardness of self-imaging and self-construction. The image is no longer a representation of the experience, but instead becomes imbued with my presence and signature, becoming not only an image of discomfort and awkwardness, but infused with it in its very construction. It becomes “cramped” and constrained within the small dimensions of the painting, forever limited by the narrow space offered by the artworks size. The cropping is ambiguous and the application of paint creates a tension in its struggle for depth and volume. The image extends beyond representation and instead becomes an object of awkwardness itself.
Who or what are the biggest influences on your work?
My main influencers are Kiki Smith, Tracey Emin, Nicole Eisenman, Lucian Freud. However, I also find much inspiration from photographic artists including Juno Calypso, Rineke Dijkstra and Wolfgang Tilmans.
How do you keep your creative juices flowing? How do you push past creative block?
Whenever I struggle with creative block I seem to begin procrastinating in fear of the failures I undoubtedly expect. So, I instead put this energy into “smart” procrastination, which involves me watching movies, reading books and looking at artworks that inspire me. If that doesn’t work then I just start drawing in my diary, and trust that ideas will come when they need to surface.
Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?
I currently work in my mum and dad’s garage with my dad's car on one's side of the space and myself on the other. I have a table and paints and a very cluttered space that I need to clean one day soon.
If you could go on an Artist’s Residency anywhere in the world, where would that be and why?
London! I love all the contemporary artists currently residing in London and it would be amazing to learn from the environment they are all surrounded by. If not there, then perhaps Berlin or Paris.
What’s next for you after your time at Brunswick Street Gallery? What upcoming projects are you working on now?
I am currently working on a new series of works that further my explorations of femininity and the gendered performance, and its relationship to discomfort. I am intending to have a solo exhibition by the end of the year.
What does your selection as one of the winners of this SMALL WORKS ART PRIZE mean to you, and to the future of your practice?
I am so thrilled to have been awarded with an Honourable Mention: Hound & Bone Prize. It has given me more confidence in my work and practice, and a newfound excitement to continue exploring and challenging myself in every aspect of my art practice. To be shown at The Brunswick Street Gallery is also a massive privilege and I am beyond proud to be shown in such a contemporary and exciting gallery, one I have adored and followed for some time prior to this show.
Awarded the Honourable Mention – Hound & Bone Prize, as selected by the team at Hound & Bone, Alexandra Sloane will receive a $300 voucher for services from Hound & Bone Studio.