Super Wild Beach Party
18 November 2022
Onwards Gallery
SUPER WILD BEACH PARTY
Holly Leonardson
Artist Statement
Residing close to Newcastle's coastline for the past three years and living in the sunny Noosa Hinterland another three years prior, the beach hasn’t strayed far from Holly Leonardson's thoughts. Both wild, natural environment and site of lifestyle and culture, the coastline and its associated motifs are represented repeatedly across fine arts and handicrafts. A desire to gain a sense of belonging within this landscape has resulted in the ongoing creation of her own marine-focused works; an exercise in adding to a widely shared appreciation of the sea by way of the handmade.
Collecting, reflecting on and making use of shell necklaces and tourist tchotchkes, beach towels, sand, driftwood and other beachcombing finds, with the addition of paint and photographs clipped from discarded reference books, has resulted in a series of collage-based works on wood panel and small driftwood sculptures. Worn treasures found scattered along the shoreline have been collected and fashioned together by hand using simple materials such as nails and knotted cord to produce decorative hanging objects.
Beach towel-inspired stripes painted over layers of sand and photographic imagery are the main signifiers of a human presence within this body of work, which has been balanced with images of the landscape and wildlife seen from the skies, the water's edge or the oceans depths. Holly’s work in Super Wild Beach Party combines the serenity of a deserted beach on an overcast day and the vibrancy of colours revealed by a cloudless sky and burning sun on a popular stretch of sand.
