Artists Statement
Central to my practice are notions of identity and place. I bring rhythm, placement, the peripheral and culture into question through heavily layered paintings, objects in installation while juxtaposing light, ephemeral almost non-existent surfaces that fall away into the field. Grasping, landing/ not landing, my works are a play in ‘completeness’ and void.
I create immersive painting using layering techniques working rhythmically in large-scale with house paint rollers and water spray bottles. This method speaks to painting as a meditative and physical performative process taken over long periods of time: adding, removing. The paintings are at times intersected or connected physically in space with wool to objects such as river boulders or sculptures placed to disrupt traditional viewing traditions whilst creating a sense of awe and immersion, inclusion or gaurdedness. Dealing with notions of rhythm, placement and the peripheral, culture is also central to this notion of identity and place in my work.
Cloudlands review by Craig Judd:
Captivating for their bravura qualities, these works feature the leitmotif of biomorphic, ghost-like shapes or figures in overwhelming landscape settings. Are we witnessing a birthing process, or an entropic disaster? The striking atmospheric qualities, the delicate fields of layered, coloured wash recall the "falling worlds" of Chinese scroll painting. Paradoxically, there is also an ominous claustrophobia here with forms that appear trapped within the miasma.
LÆRK’s works suggest narratives that are central to colonising cultures for example being lost in the unmapped primal wilderness, or questions of origin and ultimate sustainability. Quite possibly the tantalising narrative arcs in the paintings are influenced by the artist's Maori heritage. Yet there is a distinct sense of much broader frames of reference in the making and finish of the works.
Ultimately, the insistent polyvalent mysteriousness echoes a vast swathe of Romantic antecedents and cultural forms that oscillate across the pre historic, the Indigenous and the first worlds.
Biography
LÆRK is a multi-media artist. Primarily known as a painter, she also works with performance, fibre, photography, installation, film and sound. The Sydney-based artist was born in New Zealand and can trace her lineage to both Danish and Maori ancestors, her iwi being Ngati Maniapoto. LÆRK speaks fluent Dutch and lived and worked in Amsterdam, as well as Sydney, for nearly two decades. In addition to a fine arts degree from the University of Sydney (Sculpture, Film & Performance), she holds tertiary qualifications in music, sound art, art direction and cinematography. Lark exhibits regularly, including as a finalist in highly competitive award exhibitions such as the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, the Fishers Ghost Art Prize, and the Blacktown City Art Prize.
LÆRK
Abridged CV
Born Taupo, New Zealand.
Lives and works in Sydney, NSW, Australia
Education
2006 Certificate in Art Direction & Cinematography, Australian Film and Television School, Sydney.
2002-01 Post-Graduate Certificate in Sound Art, University of Technology (UTS), Sydney.
1994-93 Music Certificate: Vocal major, Composition minor, Australian Institute of Music, Sydney.
1990-88 Bachelor of Arts (with advanced standing): Sculpture, Film & Performance, University of Sydney, Sydney College of the Arts (SCA).
1987-85 Art Certificate: Painting major, Drawing/ Photography minor, National Art School (NAS),Sydney.
Residencies
2020 Studio Faire residency, France- postoned
Danig Scenekunst Service residency, Denmark- postponed
2018- Brand X residency program, Sydney
Selected Exhibitions: Sydney, NSW, Australia
2021 Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre
2018 The Apocalypse Tapestry of Darlinghurst (solo show), East Sydney Community & Arts Centre, (ESCAC)
Blacktown City Art Prize, Blacktown Arts Centre
Locale, Gaffa Gallery
2017 Refuge (solo show), Collab Gallery
Transmute, Gallerie Pom Pom
2016 Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre
2015 Fishers Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown Arts Centre
Blacktown City Art Prize, Blacktown Arts Centre
Art at Night, ArtMonth
2014 We Are Family, Australian Centre for Photography (ACP)
Plastic Oh No, Marrickville Garage
Art at Night, ArtMonth
2013 A.R.P Live
2012 4A, Gallery 4A
2011 Strangelands (solo show), Harrison Galleries
Round too, A.R.P
Shelf Life, Delmar Gallery
Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize, State Library of New South Wales
2010 Between A Rock & A Hard Place, Cockatoo Island
Weave, Parramatta Artists’ Studios
Grants, Awards, and Prizes
2018 City of Sydney Cultural Grant
Galfa Cultural Grant
2011 Foto Riesel sponsorship
Abridged Arts Industry Employment
2018-09 Founder and Director A.R.P Artists Residency Program, 50 artists, Cockatoo Island, Darlinghurst, The Rocks, Sydney.
(Sponsors: Arts NSW, City of Sydney, Sydney Foreshore Authority, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust)
1996-11 Community development roles managing large scale indoor and outdoor festivals/theatre projects
including: Minto: Live, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney; What I think about when I think About Dancing,
Campbelltown Arts Centre, Sydney; Currents, Parramatta Artists Studios, Sydney; Quick & Dirty, Performance Space, Sydney
2005-09 Installation coordination roles, including: Biennale of Sydney, 2006 and 2008; Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Sydney;
Venice Biennale, 2007, Venice, Italy; Mosman Art Gallery; Stills Gallery, Sydney
1994-01 Art Department film roles Sydney, including: Moulin Rouge, Bazmark productions; Farscape,
Jim Henson Productions; Mother and Son; GP; Playschool ABC TV
Key Lectures
2017 FavorEconomy, audio archive of female artists
2014 We Are Family, Australian Centre for Photography (ACP)
2013 Residency Symposium, National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)
2012 Synergy, National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)
Weave, Parramatta Artist’s Studios
Art & Co existence in Sydney, City of Sydney
2011 ARTMONTH Public Talks
Collections
Numerous private collections in the Netherlands and Australia.