Sophia Childs
She/her
Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours)
Sophia Childs, That which survives (1), 2023, acrylic on machine-stitched stretched canvas made from heavy linen, hessian, denim, cashmere, cotton, polycotton, wool, old towel turned paint rag, old pjs, a favourite singlet that became too small, old gifted clothes, used canvas from old paintings, carpet samples, and reclaimed textile scraps, 122 x 122 cm
Photographer: Brenton McGeachie
Painting is Undead: Non-Representational Painting on Sutured Surfaces is the body of work from my honours research. It responds to the aesthetic history of abstraction and questions the continued declaration that 'painting is dead' through an expanded painting practice that uses recycled and reclaimed textiles to create 'sutured surfaces' to paint on. I use Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' as a metaphor to think about how to reanimate these materials through suturing, joining, juxtaposition and layering.