Curatorial Statement
Artist Statements
Artworks
Kaitlyn Davison
Kaitlyn Davison is an emerging artist based in Kaurna Country (Adelaide, South Australia). Currently in her Honours year at UniSA, she is a multidisciplinary artist who works with different mediums, including but not limited to textiles, ceramics, photography, and installation. Often incorporating a multi-media approach to her artistic practice, Kaitlyn’s work delves into themes of self-exploration to try and gain further understanding of how the internal and external experience connects.
Living with anxiety and perfectionism impacts daily life for Kaitlyn. Using artistic processes to try and understand herself and the world around her has been a common method used by this artist since a young age. Kaitlyn has described herself as a “jittery mess of a human” on multiple occasions and regularly attempts to imbue her artistic work with her own sense of humour, especially when navigating personal and sometimes difficult topics, such as mental health.
On this series:
"My works displayed in the mindshare Group Exhibition are fragments of a larger installation piece I created last year where I explored my own experience of living with anxiety and perfectionism. I find that I am often working against my own mind and pushing through repetitive and intrusive thoughts, with this work I allowed these notions to surface and be presented in a physical realm.
In opposition to my regular ruminative perfectionist tendencies, I attempted to not dwell on the quality of the work and instead let my intuition take over – a challenging endeavour as this is usually a part of myself that I do not trust. This is how the ghost came to into existence, a passive character born from the impulsivity of my mind, it becomes a reoccurring motif that allows an obscuring of the external while revealing the internal. The ghost provides both vulnerability and protection in these spontaneously created images.
Through a combination of words, discarded materials and intuitive imagery the artworks presented help piece together the sometimes chaotic yet cyclical experience of living with fluctuating and ongoing mental health conditions."
Anastasia Comelli
"I'm a visual storyteller with the ability to convey emotive storylines through experimental and non-narrative methods. I often find that my work looks at the shifting emotions I face identifying as a queer woman. My art allows me to express my identity without always having to speak about it."
Emma Sullivan
"My name is Emma Sullivan and I create work that celebrates the macabre and grotesque aspects of humanity. Using primarily digital collage and a blend of abstract sculpture work, I produce pieces that evoke feelings of dissociation and mania in order to destigmatise these emotions and experiences. My work is a juxtaposition of horror and beauty with collections of fragmented and often mutated portraits surrounded by flowers and insects.
Generalised anxiety disorder and depression have dictated my life from a young age and often left me feeling like I was an outsider of my own life, watching my body move along without me. I started to create artwork to escape these feelings however as I became older, I used my practice as a way to confront these difficult topics – I want to normalise these aspects of my life and help others understand not only how it feels but to offer a helping hand to others dealing with mental illness."
Billie Larson
Billie Larsen is a non-binary artist living in Adelaide, South Australia. They use a combination of pens, markers, pencil and paint to create their work. Billie’s work expresses mood through narratives inspired by fantasy and science fiction genres.
Living with a chronic illness and experiencing depression and anxiety, they have used art to find peace within themselves. Billie’s favourite show is Star Trek: The Next Generation.
On this series:
"These images represent different parts of myself throughout my journey in life. For each one I have intuitively expressed a narrative relating to trauma and healing. My focus is to find a place of clarity in my mind by exploring forms. I feel at peace when I lose myself in the detail of linework. Art is my therapy and I’m very happy that I share this with the world."
Claire Morrison
As a maker of marks by nature and by way of various mediums - such as watercolour, acrylic and digital, I find peace, joy, clarity and belonging. Not rooted in one style, I depict people, worlds, ideas, and abstracts of colour and line. In my creative process I try to embrace the quirks and challenges and flow along with them, appreciating the true freedom of art as well as the lessons it offers.
As a neurodivergent person who experiences mental health hurdles, I find a place within the pigment, colours and lines that always feels like home-base. Moving forward, I hope to continue exploring and mastering various mediums, whilst continuing to connect with my own creative potential to create transcending works of art.
Christina Lauren
Christina Lauren is an emerging curator and artist, currently undertaking a residency as Carclew Resident curator, as part of their 2021 Sharehouse program. Graduating a Bachelor of Contemporary Art in 2019, Christina implements her experience and knowledge as a visual artist into her curatorial practices, as well as allowing her passion for arts theory to guide her. She is a multi-media artist, currently working mostly in oil pant, exploring notions of the human condition and mental health. Christina has worked previously as a curator through City of Adelaide’s Emerging Curator program supported by Carclew in 2019, as well as launching a collaborative arts music project with Bad Habits Events in 2019. Christina began her residency at Carclew in 2020, and has continued through to 2021.
Christina has participated in numerous group exhibitions, including ‘Unwearable’ at Cloister Workrooms, Kaurna Land 2017, ‘Art on Campus’ in the West Oak Hotel, Kaurna Land 2018, 'Inevitable’ in Carclew House Foyer, Kaurna Land 2019 and University of South Australia’s ‘Art on Campus’, Kaurna Land, 2019.
Christina was awarded the 2021 SALA Contemporary Curator Award for her curatorial role in ‘Refractions’ at Carclew.
On this series:
"This series of works was created during my time at Uni, mostly in third year. Their importance to me is unwavering, and reflects a frightening yet important time in my life and self-evolution. Most of the works are created using tension on canvas, pulled taught with thread and wool, painted freely and emotively – vulnerably. The face, the portrait, was something I became fascinated with, the further I looked into myself.
After years spent trying to unravel my own trail of trauma I had experienced during my young life, I grew more and more to learn about theories such as the Madonna-Whore Complex through my theoretical research at Uni. Reading texts written by female/non-binary identifying theorists, artists, art critics, historians etc finally gave me the confidence to utilise my art to express the trauma men had brought upon me.
Understanding the insufferable disregard women had faced through art history, and witnessing revolutionary acts by all the feminist art waves and movements through the years, gave me the courage to actually believe myself about physical, emotional and sexual traumas I had faced and had been forced into silence about. Once I began to express myself through my own art, creating an endless amount of self-portraits, I began to speak to friends about their experiences, and create art in response to theirs and my pains.
Though I consider this body of work closed, the impact it had on me remains strong, and will continue to influence not only my art practice, but my life and my ability to overcome trauma."
KJ Hepworth
KJ is a white settler Australian living and making art on Kaurna land. They work with brush pens and ink, cotton and embroidery thread, pixels and printers.
Matthew Shaw
Adelaide based painter Matthew Shaw is a local artist that has exhibited in a couple shows and has been in some of Adelaide’s biggest markets doing a lot of live painting in the process. He is very comfortable in front of the canvas and has done live painting in front of a live audience on multiple occasions.
Matthew’s work is a hyper colour mix of bold, bright colours that is heavily influenced by neo expression and pop art using acrylics, pastels and spray paint on canvas, wooden boards, paper and currently experimenting with painting furniture.
As a young self-taught visual artist, Matthew uses painting as a language to tell stories and draw iconic individuals through his eyes. Matthew has been exploring anxiety, depression, and addiction over the last 5 years - watching and learning the people around him throughout his journey. His work stems from moments, conversations, thoughts, and feelings in an expressive, spontaneous style.
Matthew says, "Mental health is an important conversation that needs to be addressed and shared, among others. As there are many individuals struggling to open up about their feelings to friends or family, I think this is an important exhibition that will encourage artist to not just open the door to mental health but to share their stories and express themselves in anyway shape or form. The exhibition brings forth continuous thoughts and ideas that weigh on the artist’s mind daily whilst also sharing experiences and moments of life as they are expressed to canvas."
TAYLAA
TAYLAA is an Adelaide-based visual artist.
TAYLAA works in a mixture of all mediums. Acrylic paint is her favourite. TAYLAA's artworks explores the themes of social issues, expression and imagination.
TAYLAA also lives with anxiety and mental health issues relating to trauma. She finds her creative practice is a good distraction, helps her to see the beauty in the world and a great way to raise awareness about mental health issues that have effected her.
"Art has always been a positive distraction for me from my trauma and mental illnesses. It's a way to zone out or zone in on whatever YOU want. You have complete control. No one else controls the magical space you create with your art but you. No one can say it's wrong as art is subjective. It's freeing."
TAYLAA hopes to help others who have had similar experiences to her through her practice whilst pursuing her dream as an artist.
Instagram: @kooky_designs_
Luke Hunter
Adelaide based painter, Luke Hunter, uses humour and darkness to send a message through his graphic pieces. Luke experiments with texture and text to create pieces that confuse and delight. His art reflects a modern day interpretation of the neo-expressionist movement from New York in the late eighties and early nineties.
Luke shares with us his innermost thoughts and feelings, opening us up to a visual representation of the most common mental health issue facing someone you know right now; anxiety.
Instagram: _Luke_Hunter_art
Email: Lukehunterart@outlook.com
Mali Isabel
Mali Isabel is an Arabana and Kokatha woman from Port Augusta, now based in Adelaide. Mali is an emerging visual artist focusing her practice on acrylic dot painting, but extends to various mediums. All of Mali’s art is based on the meaning of equality, which is the reasoning behind the emphasised use of her rainbow colours.
Mali focuses her art on topics such as racism, discrimination, mental health, diversity and feminism, along with many other important topics. Throughout Mali’s art, she always encourages people to keep an open mind. Mali’s goal is to change the world and make it a stronger and more equal society for all.
Instagram: @malisabelart
Facebook: Mali Isabel Art
Nate Hutton
"Art is a strong catalyst for expression and awareness in the mental health healing journey. My own art is always an expression of my own mental health challenges. Through my art, I feel a sense of connection to others with similar experiences from which deeper understanding and communities can arise.
The mindshare Group exhibition is a fantastic way to celebrate inclusiveness around mental health and the part creativity can play in creating supportive communities."
Nigel Matejcic
Nigel Matejcic is a local Adelaide artist. Nigel creates art in the style of Abstract Expressionism, which is non-realism with feeling. The work’s, which are created through Nigel, reflect core themes of Unconditional Love and Being. His works contain Spiritual Light Codes. These are of Theta Frequency and drop into the Creator Consciousness.
Nigel explains: “The lines in my works are painted non-symmetrical with the intention of Love. They don’t ‘add up’. I Be in the moment. They express a deeper truth of the perfection in imperfection and that we too are lovable while we are imperfect.”
Nigel understands such perfection in imperfection as he has Schizophrenia and Bi-polar disorder. He chooses to create art with the intention of Unconditional Love to help show others that they too can love themselves and see themselves as perfect and lovable in their imperfection.
Instagram: @nigelmatejcicart
Hannah Winston
"I’m a Peer Worker. This means I use my lived experience of my own mental illness to help those who may be struggling. My qualification in lived experience Peer Work has taught me how to reflect on my recovery journey in a way that ensures I use it in a trauma informed way so that it can inspire, motivate and provide hope.
In my spare time, I love to op shop, do some gardening, spend time with my dog and of course be creative."
Bai
Hailing from the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide, Bai is a young creative who turns to photography, art and music when overwhelmed by the stresses of modern teen life. Bai’s artwork reflects how they feel and can be deeply personal amongst layers of digital collage.
Bai’s mobile phone is a source of comfort, always within reach to document moments and adventures, scroll through memories or to create artworks that express the feelings that words cannot.
James Coulter
James has turned his love and passion for fast food into his signature art style. His characters such as Pig-Can and Waffle-Kid make you smile with their whimsical appearance and quirky personalities. James enjoys making art because it is hands on and practical without any ‘theory based shenanigans’ like at school. James loves Lego, the band BTS, K-Pop characters and his Nintendo Switch. James won the People’s Choice award for his film titled ‘Lego Fix’ in the Sit Down Shut Up and Listen Film Festival in 2018. Next year James plans to study digital art and design at Tafe so he can take over the world with his art.
Alexandra Hill
Alex developed this song, inspired by her love of adventures, nature and the fantasy realm. Through Alex’s lived experience of mental illness, she has found creative expression a constant remedy to express and divert her mind to a colourful and happy place.
Her song in this year's mindshare Exhibition comes accompanied by artworks of characters and scenes from Happyville Park. An imagined place, Happyville Park is filled with joy & wonder whilst tinged with the strange and mystical, akin to a Lewis Carroll Wonderland. A place to feel safe & inspired but always expecting the unexpected!
Michelle Blackmore
Michelle Blackmore is a survivor. Her creative writing provides her with the resilience and strength she needs to go on. Gratitude is the overarching theme, with hope and courage being a river running underneath. Words on paper offer her freedom from mental turmoil and a way to escape.
Michelle finds mindfulness, or what's known as 'the flow state' in her method of writing. She finds a much needed retreat from what can be an extremely challenging life. Michelle would like to share her words, her affirmations and poems, with others who may need to be inspired, and to those who may have lost hope. Michelle's purpose in sharing her writing is to inspire people to believe in themselves, in their own worth, and to never give up.
Joe Amuso
Joe Amuso always loved art, especially abstract works but never put paint to canvas until later in life. Joe’s work is inspired by pop art, colourists and naïve painters. To this artist, painting should be relaxing, fun and spontaneous.
Amanda Butterfield
Amanda Butterfield is just beginning to explore art, she is enjoying using different mediums, especially watercolour pencils. Amanda is new the Neami Comet art group. She also enjoys the sharing with other artists and exhibiting her artwork.
Sarah Donnell
Sarah Donnell is influenced by the power of nature and our relationship to it. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Adelaide University (SA) and a Diploma in Commercial Art (Graphic Design) from CATC Design School (NSW). Her artistic practice consists of acrylic painting on canvas, with drawing underpinning everything she does.
Sarah is interested the stories of women's experiences as expressed through folktale, myth, literature, song, poetry and the like. She weaves tales of goddesses, heroines and other notable characters into her visions and dreams and into her artworks on canvas to create strong female protagonists.
Lydia Craig
Lydia Craig has been an artist for over 6 years. ‘I enjoy painting, meeting with other artists and the relaxing emotions it brings to my life’. Lydia hopes to create more art to exhibit in future exhibitions.
Andrew Saj
Andrew Saj quotes,
“I have been painting since 2007 when I was diagnosed with depression. I was hospitalised and started painting in the art room, I am mainly self-taught. I work in watercolour, my favourite paintings are of old buildings around Adelaide, I hope you like them.”
Ashton Schilling
Ashton Schilling is originally from the Great Southern of Western Australia and is now living in Murray Bridge after having lived in Perth, Melbourne, Mooloolaba, Mt Tom Price and Coober Pedy.
Ashton quotes,
‘Art is omnipresent, within and without. Its inherent creative qualities help to see the bigger picture.’
Catherine Pallin
Catherine Pallin quotes “I have always had an art practice, but recently it has flowered. I have been a member of the Neami Murray Bridge art group for 6 years now. The companionship, laughter and creative support of the group, I love and encourages me in my creativity. I hope you enjoy our work.”
Audrey van den Heuvel
Audrey van den Heuvel attends the Neami "Drawn Together" Art group in Murray Bridge and quotes,
"Expressing my feelings through art has always been important, probably my first love. I have studied at the SA School of Arts and for an Associate Diploma in Crafts and Interior Design. The group had given me friendships, support and encouragement to experiment with various art forms."
Cecilia Kluge
Cecilia Kluge quotes,
‘Art gives an opportunity for me to express my feelings. Being able to exhibit gives a sense of achievement and excitement that I can show others my artwork. I began art the first year Neami Drawing Together Art Group started in Murray Bridge. This group is very friendly and caring as well as being a safe place to be. We are respectful to each other, but I mostly like the fact that we all give each other a hand. Art has got me through some very tough times! By focussing on my art, I can cope better with ‘life’.’
Elaine Roberts
Elaine Roberts quotes,
“I absolutely love going to art group, I make new friends and build my skills and I am getting better and better. I enjoy trying new things and I have recently fallen in love with vibrant Pastels’’.
Betty
Betty has been attending the Neami Arts programs for several years. She began painting with acrylic producing portraits and is now embracing coloured pencils as an art form. Betty enjoys new challenges and looks forward to where the opportunities will take her.
Jan Thomas
Jan Thomas’s art has ranged from China painting, ceramics, folk art, doll painting and for the last ten years fine art. "I mostly paint in acrylics and pastels, and have a particular passion for painting animals in pastels." Her love of animals and concern for conservation and the environment has guided her in her paintings.
Lindy Thai
Lindy Thai has been developing her art style from a young age. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums and drawing inspiration from unexpected sources for visual storytelling. Her artwork can be found on instagram @sanilyst.art
Craig Finnis
Craig Finnis “I work mainly in photography and painting. Most of my work inspired by my dreams. Therefore, it has a surreal quality. I believe art pushes us to reach deeper into our imagination and our soul. I work with techniques such as collage art, pencil, oil pastel and acrylic.”
Edwina Klauke
“I’m always influenced about art and different approaches on what I draw and try to paint. I enjoy attending the groups run through the JUMP Arts program in Port Adelaide, they’re very useful in opening the flow of being creative. It relieves tiresome boredom or other aspects of being someone like me who is experiencing mental health issues. The subjects I like to paint are birds, ocean life, flowers, even some designs with some colour or patterns. Overall I’ve found more to achieve in art.”
Jenny Zitzke
Jenny Zitzke is an emerging artist who has been attending the various art groups run by Neami in Port Adelaide. Jenny has always wanted to learn drawing since she was 10 years old and it’s only been in the last year and a half that Jenny has had the opportunity to fulfil this dream. Jenny enjoy drawn many different subjects but particularly flora. She developed her skills to draw different plants as part of her horticultural training many years ago. This is Jenny’s first Exhibition and she looks forward to participating in many more in the future.
Zoe Blundell
"I am a South Australian Sculpture, Painter and Drawer. I draw for landscape and building design. I Draw ideas and concepts to my work with symbols and objects. Drawing is my focus at the moment. I have always enjoyed drawing and I draw to process and to relax."
Stevan Howison
Stevan Howison quotes, “My engagement with visual arts - painting, drawing and sculpture - has run on for 30 years and my focus and enthusiasm is as strong as ever. The work has given my life texture, colour and meaning. In the last 4 years I have engaged with ‘Post Objects’, symbolism and metaphor. These are the threads of style, connections and metaphors after years of working and now I have my own language.
Helen Cooke
Helen Cooke has been attending the Neami art groups for over 5 years and has exhibited her artwork in various Exhibitions. Helen finds painting relaxing and challenging all at the same time. The arts groups get her out of the house as she enjoys the social connection. She enjoys sharing and looking at what other artists are working on.
Phillip Miller
Phillip Miller has a passion for photography and a very keen eye for detail. He manipulates his images on Photoshop and loves to recreate landscapes, both natural and urban, with layers of colour.
LJ
“My artistic journey started with Jump Arts group at Neami in Mid-2020. At first, I came to just give a try but slowly realised I enjoy it a lot as it allows me to express myself in so many more ways than words can. So far, I have experimented with different materials including paste, acrylic and water colour. I wish to continue working and learn new techniques.”
JL
This artist loves colour and using different tones and shades, especially when painting flowers. She attends the workshops at JUMP Art and is inspired by the other artists in the group. She is influenced by the great Impressionists artists and would like to further develop her style and continue to enjoy painting flowers in both acrylic and watercolour mediums.
Anonymous
This artist's loves for the outdoors and having grown up in the country is what inspired her to capture the natural world. She feels that the nature she cherishes in return free her mind and nourishes her feelings and emotions. Throughout her life, she has always been intrigued by bright colours and utilising acrylic medium to achieve her artworks. She believes there is always room for improvement by learning new skills and this drives to set challenging goals for the future.
Anonymous
This artist has worked on developing many new techniques to manipulate her images in Photoshop. She is creative and has a natural talent when capturing images with the camera.
Anonymous
This artist recently stated attending the Neami art groups in Salisbury and is inspired to learn new techniques to work toward her passion in supporting other to heal through art. They enjoy exploring and using different mediums to see what they can achieve. This is their first exhibition.
Anonymous
This artist combines two of his passions, mathematics and art into his work. He states that a supportive friend has taught him most of his art skills. He enjoys exhibiting his art and hopes to sell more pieces in the future. He is continuing to develop his style and technique.
Anonymous
This artist has only started drawing again since he began attending art groups in Salisbury. He remembers being good at drawing as a child but has never take it seriously. He enjoys the art group as it gets him out of the house and allows him to socialise.
Anonymous
This artist has been attending the Neami Visual Arts programs for several years and loves to create art using her own drawing unique style. This is her fourth exhibition with Mindshare.
Anonymous
"I always believe in being honest and enjoy peace. I enjoy walks in nature and attending the art group in Murray Bridge, the social time is good, it gets me out of the house. I have always enjoyed doing pencil and pen artwork."