Elise Hawthorne
One of Australia’s most gifted landscape artists, Carly Le Cerf, recently gave me a fascinating insight into the inspiration behind her latest exhibition, Karijini: Contemplation of Time, now on show at the Michael Reid Gallery in Murrurundi. Karinji: Contemplation of Time, takes its name from the Karijini National Park, which belongs to the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga peoples. This exhibition saw the West Australian artist return to the outback, beautifully capturing the landscape in encaustic wax and oil painting techniques.
Q: The Pilbara landscape and time inspire your new body of work. How did the layers of history impact how you saw, heard, felt, (smelt?) and hence interpreted the landscape of this magical place?
A: The layered rocks are quite literally frozen periods in time. The rock formations found in the Pilbara region have been found to date over 2 billion years- before the oxidation of the planet! The works in this exhibition, were informed by visits to a special gorge known to the Banyjima, Kurrama and Innawonga Aboriginal people as ‘Minhthukundi’ (aka Hamersley Gorge) These laminated rock formations are beautifully evident in this gorge. Evidence of the traditional owners occupation of this area dates 30,000 years. Everything in the Pilbara is so old!
But quite apart from the facts and the literal, there is a mystic and eerie energy which emanates through the gorge that can be felt with every sense. The ancient energy of the landscape is at first overwhelming, especially with the added intense heat and isolation. However, after spending deep, thoughtful time, idling in the place, I felt a connection to all things past and present, as though I myself were part of this present ‘layer’ of history. Nature can teach us so much about our place and also about our insignificance and impermanence.
Q: Your painting of Minhthukundi (Hamersley Gorge, Karijini), titled Perpetuation of Existence, is a pentaptych (5 panels) museum scale landscape. As this was the first time you painted such a large-scale work – why now, and how was this creative experience different, dare I say, more challenging?
A: last year I came across an Instagram post showcasing Ben Quilty’s new work, ‘The Creek, Rorschach After Streeton’ which is 7m long. The energy of the work lit a fire within me. I thought, I want to create a truly impressive and grand work like that. What I have enjoyed about creating a landscape painting of this size is how striking it is in its sheer physicality, and how how it captures the experience of being there. The beauty of the Pentaptych is that while constructing a monumental composition across all five panels, there is also the possibility of compartmentalising the landscape. The actual construction of the painting was easier than I thought. I used bigger brushes and broader movements, using my whole body. The size made room for more lyrical, free applications of paint. The challenge was moving the panels around, as they became heavey, especially after a few layers of wax. To ship these works I had custom boxes made and it was quite an expensive endeavour to ship them to Sydney. In all I loved it and would enjoy an opportunity to create another multi panel artwork.
Q: I heard your Over and Above Minhthukundi piece was inspired by the ancient crevices created through erosion and time – can you elaborate.
A: This work seeks to mirror the awesome spectacle of a vast and sun scorched land. Through the employment of spontaneous wax drips and layers of rich red oxides and yellow ochres, I hoped to capture the sudden and sheer chasms that Karijini is famous for. The work also has a softness to it. I intentionally included softer yellows and golds to bring in a feminine quality, which more appropriately expresses my personal connection to the landscape. I have spent some time in the air over this country whilst living in the Pilbara and feel a strong bond.
Q. What was the inspiration behind Enveloped?
A: Minhthukundi is an awe-inspiring place that can only be appreciated through actual experience. Once at the base of the gorge it is easy to become immersed in the spectacle. However, it is when you look up, that you truly appreciate its magnificence. The chasm is womb like and embracing in shape. Like much of Karijini, its form is overwhelmingly feminine and sensuous. The surrounding rock walls, with their ancient layers of time, felt like arms, enveloping me in a warm and welcome hug of belonging.
Q: What was your process – did you sketch the landscape in situ and then finish each painting back in your studio from memory and photographs?
A: I lived in the Pilbara for five years after graduating from university. I taught in a remote aboriginal Community School and spent a great deal of time out in the landscape. Since then, I have travelled back almost annually to get a fresh dose of the red dirt, which I feel integral to my wellbeing. I need to escape the clutter of daily life and return to the ‘vast’ regularly. As a result of lived experience, I have considerable visual memory of the place.
I am actually primarily a studio painter. It is integral that I spend time out in the landscape; gathering (memories of compositions and colours), collecting (textural rubbings etc) and recording (drawings, painting, photos and writing). I get a great deal of pleasure from painting plein air and can literally waste an entire day looking and putting what I see onto paper. However, I like to allow some space between the place that I am drawing inspiration from and the work I create in the studio. The works evolve in the studio, to become imagined landscapes that speak about experience but live in their own right. They are authentic in my unique expression.
Q. Why do you paint landscapes instead of portraits (as an example)?
A: The landscape, it’s light, the changing seasons and the historical component (a deep respect for what/who has become before me) spark a creative fire within me. I immigrated to Australia with my family when I was five and my parents shared their appreciation of the Australian Landscape with me from this time. I guess they were pretty blown away by the ‘SPACE’ and the colours that this magnificent country had to offer. A childhood of travel, outdoors and lots of camping were the perfect ingredients for a budding landscape artist. Other genres such as portraiture or still life have never held the same charge for me.
Q. In relation to this exhibition, the word ‘colour’ – discuss.
A: I have been highly sensitive to colour for as long as I can remember. It is the colours in the landscape that initially capture my attention and I start to ponder how to recreate the palette in my studio. I have become highly proficient at mixing any colour that I see. The landscape (especially the Pilbara) offers infinite colour schemes, which I find incredibly exciting. I am drawn to warm, soft palettes and enjoy creating sensuous colour combinations with a more feminine quality.
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Carly Le Cerf is an English born West Australian painter who lives and works in Mount Barker WA. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with Edith Cowan University and is represented by Michael Reid Murrurundi and Gallows Gallery, WA. Carly’s paintings are informed by her physical and emotional engagement with the West Australian landscape. She works en plein air and from her studio, experimenting with encaustic wax and oil painting techniques. Note: The first photo depicts Carly Le Cerf in her studio.
Carly Le Cerf
Karijini: Contemplation Of Time
6 May – 5 June 2022
Michael Reid Gallery
Murrurundi, NSW Australia
For more information, visit: www.michaelreidmurrurundi.com.au
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