The One and the Many (Paper towel), 2025, graphite on gampi paper, solder
One day on my walk to the studio I picked up a used piece of paper towel from a particularly scungy stretch of Metropolitan ave.
I began a practice, over a period of months, where at the start of each studio day I made a graphite rubbing of the paper towel on rice paper, which revealed more about the object than could be seen with naked eye. After a while it felt strangely devotional, meditative, requiring attention something like a flow state.
I produced 16 almost uniform drawings, soldering them together on the perforated join.
In Buddhism āThe One and the Manyā explores the relationship between individual, separate entities (the many) and their profound non-dualistic interconnection (the one), through interdependence. No thing exists independently. Positive space is described by negative and vice versa. Emptiness allows us to see form. šŖ
āPassesā with @micahdanges is on view until March 21 @thecommercial Sydney
#emptiness #theoneandthemany #papertowel #infinitehorizon #window
The stillness thatās already there (Watch strap), 2025, oil and acrylic on linen
š A watch strap and washer embedded in the Western Beef parking lot next to the studio. Title from an Alan Watts lecture.
Plus some other fossil findsā¦
The last pic, which got me onto the flattened terrain, is Patti Hillās photocopy of a raw egg from her #alphabetofcommonobjects. Thanks to @micahdanges for introducing me to this work!
āPassesā, with Micah Danges, is on view @thecommercial until March 7
#alanwatts #stillness #flatten #fossil
In loving detail (Sidewalk), 2025, acrylic and oil on linen
Learning through observation (Egg), 2025, acrylic and oil on linen
Walking through the industrial streets I developed a habit of meditatively scanning the ground surface for discarded bits and pieces. Often it was the way light hit a material that allowed me to see it - or it could equally disguise the object, sometimes I would discover something Iād missed on my return journey, with the sun on my back.
It was a nice surprise to hang this painting and see it camouflage with the wall āŗļø
āPassesā with @micahdanges is up @thecommercial Sydney until March 7
#photorealism #sidewalk #micromacro #boiledegg #sundial
Field Recordings, 2025, graphite on gampi paper, sterling silver, plywood
An excerpt from an essay by Naomi Riddle:
āGeologists who wish to study the Earthās structures will often seek out āsedimentary
depositional environmentsāāspecific locations where sediment accumulates or erodes in response to a siteās unique characteristicsā¦ When Kristensen walks through the seemingly hostile environment of Metropolitan Avenue, with its stench, noise, and rubbish, she finds her own ādepositional environmentā, where each stray item is its own kind of geological deposit and where each slab of concrete harbours its own history. Itās in this setting that Kristensen conducts her fieldwork.ā
I produced about 50 graphite rubbings of the ground surfaces on my way to/from the studio, throughout the seasons. 9 are on the plinth, along with 26 silver casts of some of the objects I found along the way
#fieldrecordings #frottage #sedimentarydeposits #flux #walkingmediation
ā¤ļøā¤ļøā¤ļøLove is the key to open the gate of happiness
Solid sterling silver, cast from a pendant found on Metropolitan ave, on my way to the studio
This is one of about 23 cast objects in my work āField recordingsā, on view currently @thecommercial , Sydney, until March 7
#lovingkindness #loveisthekey #valentinesday #fieldrecordings
All thatās in here is all thatās out there (Apartment door), 2025, oil on linen
All thatās out there is all thatās in here (Studio door), oil on linen, 2026
My work in āPassesā @thecommercial documents my walks over the span of 2.5 years, between my home and the studio. Being short on time (and money) as a Mum and trying to make work again, I made something out of what was available.
These 2 paintings - of my apartment door and studio door - serve as bookends to my walk. I love the ranges of time in these images, momentary radiant light, and the sawdust collected on a beaten surface from the industrial era (since washed off after I painted it).
Titles come from a lecture by Alan Watts, which can be thought about in terms of the breath, the dissolution of self and other, interconnectedness, and how everything is in a state of redistributing atoms (star material).
The title also evokes for me how the work I made in the studio (quiet, slow, monastic) vs the graphite rubbings I made in the field (loud, dirty, fast and public), is ultimately the same.
More pics of the show with @micahdanges coming š
#alanwatts #photorealistpainting
Funnelling towards a point but expanding into a whole (Penny), 2026, oil on linen
ššššššš
The smallest painting in my exhibition with @micahdanges āPassesā, now on view @thecommercial , Sydney Australia
š·: @jekmaurer
#uspennyfinalchapter #details #micromacro #nonduality #centreofattention
I stopped posting process shots ages ago I think because I didnāt want too much revealed before a show, and it can be uncomfortable showing something unfinished. But maybe itās nice to show something of the trips back and forth from the easel, and share some secrets.
It might not look it but I actually paint all my paintings in different ways. Is it ridiculous to reinvent the wheel each time or is that what keeps me painting?!
This one I used a photocopy image transfer instead of carbon paper tracing. A friend who was painting cat portraits for a side hustle gave me the idea. It was so quick and high definition that it actually crossed my mind that I might be cheating! Weeks into it I certainly donāt think I am š For this one Iāve returned to painting like a printer, starting in one corner and ending in the opposite, something I havenāt done since undergrad.
This is a watch strap mashed into the parking lot of the Western Beef supermarket next to the studio. A no frills supermarket, it weirdly has the same prices as fancy stores. Iāve studied the image for hours now, with still a way to go, but Iām finding some peace in it during the chaos.
