CreatorMichelle Van EpsTitleThe Absent ArtistDate2010MediumOil on canvasDimensionsH. 152cm x W. 91.5cmArtist StatementIntuitively set up by the artist, a blank canvas stained by dribbles of dirty water caused by a leaking roof has been placed back-to-front upon the artist's stool against the window in her studio. The wooden structure of the canvas emulates the spine of the absent artist, the shadows of the barred window creating a hypnotic sense of containment. Used, silhouetted brushes that have been rinsed of coloured paint randomly lean on the reverse of the canvas. In the foreground, the palette is covered in a fresh layer of aluminium foil with traces of clear medium floating within the reflections and colours of the metallic surface. Ultimately, this still life depicts the absence of the artist and yet, paradoxically, its very existence argues her necessity.
[ref van Eps, M. (2010) Email to Sue McEntyre, 13 November]Accession Number090.2018Access AdviceFor research purposes only. No reproduction without permission of Yarrila Arts and Museum.
