[Documentation of work produced within the Master of Fine Arts course]

Since 1982 my work has been concerned with the figure. This evolved in 1983 to become a personal statement about the presentation of women particularly as a result of media image and advertising. In 1984, using the same subject I concentrated almost entirely on consolidating my understanding of formal elements. In 1985 the figure has become a more universal religious symbol and the paintings contain a more narrative content. My painting is a method of discovery of the self and the universe. Religious symbols from Christian and eastern cultures are being used in order to seek out personal and universal understanding. The immediate environment (in this case Gippsland) influences me as it reflects the human condition. A major influence on my work this year was a trip to New York. To me New York city represents the penultimate example of Western culture and seems to foreshadow the future of the Western world through the self-destructiveness of capitalism which leads almost inevitably to a kind of third world state: humankind turning a full circle, almost a reincarnation, a glimpse into the future. This, and a visit to an imported fourteenth century monastery, also in New York city, and entirely out of context, has had a profound effect on my work this year, manifested in particular by the apocalyptic religious symbolism, although there remains a strong connection to my work of previous years. I would like to explore and resolve these concerns over the two years of the course. My means of expression is through the activity of painting. I am interested in other areas such as printmaking and drawing and I believe that to extend my image making to its fullest it would be necessary to participate at an almost equal level in those activities. I believe that it is necessary to take account of the contemporary art situation (particularly painting) in order to seriously take part in the activity of painting and drawing, to extend my visual language and to continue to operate relevantly within the context of my time, but I do not believe that this should be pursued for its own sake and result in a loss of my integrity.