LÆRK

Chalk pastel on archival wateford paper 76cm x 54cm

The artist created a series of vibrant meditative chalk pastel drawings whilst channelling a set of spiritual talks during pandemic lockdown. Created with an intention of awaking a heightened sense of consciousness whilst viewed, the drawings are forever changing and vibrating within the environment they are placed.
This series of 6 drawings has recently been completed and compared to the mystic Tantric drawings of Rajasthan by art critics for their “subtle magic that enrich the space for boundless contemplation”

32 represents the number of years Afghanistan has been at war at the time of making. The depiction of an apocalyptic war- torn sky or a brilliant sunset is at once at odds with each other. The hovering tent is representative of a scene depicting Afghan refugees housed in a tent under a bridge in Paris. Within the painted text inscribed in traditional Pashto, states- The Flag Of The Displaced People.

In this installation Lark incorporates the use of a large boulder and fine yellow wool to challenge the function of a painting within space and its affect on the viewing body.

The viewer’s choice of how to interact with these sculptural elements characterizes the choice of interaction or aversion to the subject/ topics within the painting, for example to interact with ‘other’ or to avoid & ignore.

Acrylic on canvas 195cm x 195cm

Exploring the nature of S.A.D disease in Scandinavia and the loop of rumination when confined indoors, the colour pallet and presence of Danish Folk Dance changes with the light of the day and references the artists Danish heritage.

Cloudlands Acrylic on Canvas 195cm x 195cm

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. 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.

review by Craig Judd

The Apocalypse Tapestry of Darlinghurst immersive large-scale painting and textile installation that speaks to middle-ages imagery within a contemporary context, inspired by a 14th Century French tapestry- The Apocalypse Tapestry of Angers, which the artist visited in France in 2017. ‘Todad’ addresses local issues- shifts in artistic/ queer neighborhoods and demising social housing.

Acrylic on canvas 155cm x 155cm

Representing the hidden part of LÆRK’s Maori heritage and the artists maternal gg grandmother, Hidden in me speaks to invisible cultural attributes.

Acrylic on canvas, 120cm x 120cm

Images taken from reportage of Hungarian Boarder police in Rendoreg (arresting Syrian refugees) are depicted facing an overwhelming bloody heart shaped mass

Relic, wood skull face, burnt basketball hoop, video- varying dimensions

In Relic the artist explores the stories and changing face of Sydney and its affect on communities. Household objects become future artifacts; a burnt basketball hoop and skull-like wooden mask were recently found in the rubble remaining outside what was Louis Street in Redfern- The Block. The significance of The Block to indigenous Australians. Vitrines and displays imbue in them with an importance.

LÆRK explores ideas of place in Strangelands through performative photographic imagery. LÆRK invited Bodyweather artist Linda Luke to create cocoon-like figures lost within a foreign environment covered in the weed pest ivy, literally enveloping the landscape in Bexly, nect to Sydney’s train lines. At odds with one another, the figures sit awkwardly within pod like shapes created by the weed.

Scissus, archival inkjet pigment prints, 200cm x 130cm, 59cm x 42cm, wool and pins

Exploring the notion of scissiparity (from scindere: to split and parere: to bring forth), Scissus investigates the universal bond and separation between mother and child.LÆRK examines the connections and interwoven stories engendered by birth and notions of lost and found identity. The installation incorporates wool to connect the works and dissect the space.

Images taken in the barely functioning Minto Mall in western Sydney, depict the artists interest in the shrouded lonely figure we see on the streets, that of the homeless person. Playing with visibility, LÆRKswings us between feelings of sadness and humour.

Dark painterly street scenes, homeless figures and shapes shrouded in blankets or sleeping bags, abstract and alone, are seen; identity assured through a distant perspective.

various dimensions

The installation is a shrine to privately view an image of the artists deceased father beneath frosted glass in a lowly lit setting. Is it an opportunity for reflection or confrontation.

Engaging performance artist Victoria Hunt ( with child) depicted in traditional and shrouded stances, the notion of permanence is imbued within the discarded waste that is the plastic bottle.

In Land- Land, Lark explores the function of painting within space and its affect on the body when manipulated through viewing. The function of a painting as a stand-alone object of potential desire is secondary to its manipulation and function as a kind of ‘prop’ in this instance.

The paintings depict various states of implosion and expansion, an understanding of life’s cycle- a ring of expansion, a phoenix flame and a final implosion (the birth of her son and the death of her father being pivotal life changes she has undergone). T

he hazy snow- like layering cause the viewer to feel an aversion or invitation to look further into the yellow shapes beneath. A connection to Larks Danish heritage can be seen in this weathered layering and a searching for light.

Fleshy ritualistic creatures, pyramid-like, comically big and small, divide and command the space causing the viewer to move ones body. Either in front of them, bringing the viewer closer to the paintings, or behind them turning the creatures into visual obstructions. Both positions create different viewing experiences.The invitation to see the works either through yellow glasses and then without, is a further exploration of the viewing experience and an offering of interaction and playfulness. Shoes are removed to view this work

Lark founded and ran ARP Artists Residency Program for 8 years brokering studio space for artists on Cocktoo island, Darlinghurst and the Rocks with support from the City Of Sydney, The Harbour Federation Trust, Sydney Foreshore Authority and private and commercial sponsors. Lark curated exhibitions, public programs, gallery, industrial and street exhibitions.

Some of the artists invloved were Daniel Boyd, Justene Williams, Mikala Dwyer, Richard Goodwin, Keg de Souza, Rachel Park amongst may others.

LÆRK has been commissioned to design a number of floats and events for festivals and public outdoor events seperate to the artists practice in Australia and Europe