Kelli McGregor creates art that is thoroughly Australian, exploring the people, places and culture of her homeland. Enjoy and visit her website to see more of her fascinating portfolio.
My work has evolved continuously, moving from expressionist figurative work through to a range of interpretive and semi-realistic landscapes and seascapes. I now find I have turned full circle and I’m again more concerned with composition and colour.
I’m fascinated to see how people react to both their environment and with each other, so I try to express body language and mood rather than a realistic image. I didn’t set out to be an environmental artist or to create artwork relating to social commentary, but I do want to capture the relationship we have with our natural environment.
Recently my work has involved the creation of conceptually based Sociocultural, Socio-historical works painted as an acknowledgment of past injustices, and in a way, as personal reparation.
As such, my artistic challenge lays less in the concept, than in how best to render my interpretation of the past. This aspect of reparation, in personal and emotional terms, involves treating the subject with integrity.
By being responsive to the research, maintaining honesty and realism and at the same time presenting the story, visually, in a way that the viewer can understand.
I am currently working on a new series titled ‘Kgari’, indigenous name for Fraser Island. The concept of this series was inspired by the history of Fraser Island; the indigenous stories, the conflict with colonial settlers and use of native police leading to the massacre at Indian Head.
During developmental stages I experiment with many techniques and colours, seeking materials and textures that might express my emotional response to the research I’m gathering.
I create a series of pen and ink studies, feeling my way into the series, assessing my emotions and the story I want to tell. My current works are created using a mix of charcoal drawing, acrylic underpainting, splashes of shellac and in some cases by the use of digital text.
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