Blackpatota
Breakfast, Lunch and Sanity
27 April - 15 May 2022
G4
Opening Night
Friday 29 April | 6pm – 8pm
◼︎
Art has been a wonderful way to cathartically express one’s self, mind, and soul. Almost every artist (living and dead) can relate. In particular, it has helped Vanessa to understand the complexities of life, the people around her, as well as to grapple with internal thoughts and her whirlwind of emotions. Most importantly, she uses art to communicate.
Being in long periods of isolation has led to big confrontations. Through doing the everyday mundane stuff, there was this overwhelming amount of anxiety that needed to be looked at. Later came the fears, the disappointments, the crying, and the depressing realisation that things will never be the same. But when the storm cleared out, it reintroduced the very good thing that makes waking up bearable; change. It became easier to accept life and its obstacles, it became easier to manage thoughts. And through the efforts of maintaining a positive environment, it became easier to be better.
This phase of life is the foundation and inspiration of Breakfast, Lunch, and Sanity, in which each illustration depicts a fragment of thoughts, emotions, epiphanies, and events that occurred. It is overall a visual diary of the things that have happened so far, the remains of what once was, and the hopefulness of what things will become. The initial plan was to illustrate traditionally by ink, but Vanessa was experimenting with digital art, and grew to like it. Eventually, it became the one and only medium for her illustrations, because it allowed her to freehand, resulting in a more personalised and dynamic storytelling.
Each artwork has a main subject matter, which is the girl with the short black hair. She embodies the artist’s thoughts and feelings when immersed in the situations being depicted. The majority of the colours are solid and repetitive, which cohesively unifies the artworks and captures Vanessa’s post-adolescence perspective.
Most of the illustrations are compositionally flat and frontal, giving a straightforward depiction of each context. But most of the objects are mere symbols and metaphors, indicating a hidden complexity underneath. Her concept is a reminiscence of the expressionists, in which reality is needed to be sacrificed in order to truly understand and capture the thoughts, emotions, and the identities that were being drawn. But the use of technology, minimal techniques, and malleable forms, reflect the contemporary influences that Vanessa lives in. Lastly, she quotes “people can think about whatever they want when they see my artworks, I don’t expect all of them to like what I made. But I do hope that they can relate to a piece, and know that whatever struggle they go through, they’re not alone and things will eventually get better (if that’s what they really want).”
About the Artist
Vanessa, also known as Blackpatota, is a Melbourne-based Indonesian artist specialising in both traditional and digital mediums, particularly in ink. Her work is often a depiction of warped reality taking on themes ranging from the morbid, to strange and delusional, work that raises gooseflesh as you try to rationalise the familiar and how it has been twisted. However, it also has a layer of playfulness and femininity that makes her pieces endearing, honest, and simply cute.
She has been sharpening her craft over the years of practice, and will continuously experiment with it. Until this day you can find her hard at work in her studio tackling commissions and her personal projects such as starting an art shop online and getting into tattooing.
Outside of her craft, she still remains as a creative-minded individual studying business and working at her day job in retail. Occasionally, she enjoys solitude in her own little apartment, whether that is watching some movies, being on social media, or planning her next artistic endeavour
Contact
Phone : (03) 9482 3550
mail@redgallery.com.au
Address
157 St Georges Rd
Fitzroy North, Victoria, 3068
Map
How to get here
Tram: route 11
Stop 21 just north of Edinburgh Gardens
Melway ref: 30B12
Parking in nearby streets
Bus: 504 (Reid Street)
