Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Silence Awareness Existence program / JANUARY 2023
Fiona Macpherson
Australia
www.fionamacpherson.com.au
About
Fiona Macpherson is an artist practicing on Gadigal land.
Working primarily with oils, Fiona’s painting practice
explores the nonlinear nature of healing while engaging
with an autobiographical narrative of trauma. Motivated by
impactful personal experiences, her work is focused on the
social and psychological implications of sexual abuse, and
the internal conflicts surrounding intimacy and vulnerability
in the aftermath of sexual violence. Through vibrant and
densely layered paintings, her work seeks to dissect and
examine contrasting themes of silence and visibility, surface
and underside, cognitive dissonance, tenderness, and rage.
Painting 'Daphne'
My time at Arteles was full of reflection and new beginnings.
Sparked by my research regarding the complexities of sexual
violence, trauma, and healing when justice is seemingly
unattainable, my painting ‘Daphne’ is a manifestation of
the transformative power of feminine rage with nowhere to
go. Exploring mythological tropes of monstrous feminine
metamorphosis while also letting the landscape bleed into
my work, the painting focuses on the body as the site of both
trauma and healing; a transformation that represents both
pain and deliverance as I navigate the contrasting themes of
tenderness and rage.
She lives and works in Sydney, NSW, and has just completed
a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at UNSW Art & Design in
2022.