Ashley Cullen’s paintings engage with raw emotional states usually attributed to women to expose the risks (and pleasures) of being vulnerable and abandoning facades of composure and control.
Portraiture by Ashley Cullen
Category: Art
Mother Nature is Bigger than We Are
Mother Nature is Bigger Than We Are is a meditation on the ethereal power of the natural environment and our place in it. I aimed to capture the beautiful juxtaposition of being both lost and found in the bush, and the eerie sense of freedom this creates.
Plants are the New Children
Today’s young adults, rather than having children, are focusing their nurturing energies on raising plants, specifically indoor plants. Previously, young people have treated their pets as children, however a trend of referring to themselves as ‘plant parents’ is emerging. These drawings poke fun at this concept, imagining plants in the role of children, specifically babies, both inside and outside the home.
Grandma’s Warning
Grandma’s Warning (2019) by Farey is a response to the bedroom as an intimate, cherished space. Under investigation, this space reveals much about the occupant’s life, reflecting who they are. Conceived following the 100th birthday of Farey’s great-grandmother, this work represents her process of remembering and connecting with the remaining women of her maternal lineage – her, her mother, her grandmother, and her great grandmother. Each of the four women were raised differently, live in different countries, speak different languages, communicate in different ways, and hold different values.
Sugar
Sugar by Faith Stellmaker critiques the experiences and social expectations of women in the contemporary moment and explores the ways in which girls present themselves. With feminism recently coming to the foreground of political and cultural debates, these images capture the unapologetic camaraderie shared between females in both the public and private space. They aim to ‘turn the tide’ against labels, stereotypes and the negative connotations that come with ageing by celebrating women and highlighting the female form.