JOHANNA WEISS
Mixed media, oil paints, chinagraph, silkscreen. 150cm h x 184cm w unframed
My work entails building up layer upon layer of various materials upon a substrate of heavily textured large format rag paper.
Onto this surface I begin a process of creating a foundational base by screen printing the entire area using various random screen images in my studio. I then conceal the printed surface by adhering layers of tissue paper which is then covered with layers of white paint. This layered and textured surface is reminiscent of similar elements surrounding me in the natural coastal bush environment here on the south coast of NSW, where l am surrounded by an abundance of coastal bush and banksia forests.
My work intends to reflect the layering of discarded materials in nature producing compost from decomposed leaves, layering of undergrowth in forest beds and the inexorable build up of layers of organic materials. ‘Tethered’ is a work l created in response to the Bushfires which ravaged the area over the previous four years. It describes the dark and beautiful tenacity of Nature to endure, regardless of prevailing trauma to hold itself tethered to the earth as seed, as regrowth as invaluable compost debris.
We too, us mortals, we can find solace in our natural resilience as we overcome obstacles in our lives again and again.