I’ve found that colour is key in triggering memories of places I’ve been to in the past. Overnight is a collection of paintings recalling an impromptu overnight trip to Pantai Kerachut, a beach on Penang Island, Malaysia.
Situated in the Penang National Park, the scenery wasn’t particularly memorable however an interesting series of events ensured this trip has remained in my mind. After losing my photos of that time, painting became a kind of meditative act of recalling my experiences of this place, articulating them through colour. Intuitive, but sometimes awkward line, composition and colour, express the awkwardness and those experiences of the unknown that often occur when in a new place.
My practice is focused on the nature and process of negotiating cross-cultural experiences. By drawing on time spent in Indonesia as a child as well as extensive travel as an adult, my interdisciplinary practice articulates experiences of existing between places and cultures.
Bridie Gillman, January 2017
Image: Bridie Gillman – He Pulled the Hook from his Finger, Swiftly (2016). Oil on polyester,
100 x 120 cm.
