Tiffany McKay and Christinaray Weetra
Colour Fusion
1 May - 12 May 2024
G3 & G4
Opening Night
Friday 3 May | 6 - 8pm
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Tiffany McKay
Nature is the overriding thread that binds Tiffany's body of work. As with every living thing on this planet, without it she couldn't function. For her, it is life-giving, life-saving, soul-filling and her place of peace. Some kids grow up in concrete jungles; Tiffany really appreciates that she lives in a country in which nature surrounds us and is keen to honour the natural world through her paintings.
The second thread is Experimentation. For some time Tiffany has wanted to change her focus when creating art; this means producing work that reflects how she is feeling, rather than striving for perfection. For Tiffany, this has meant that her paintings have moved towards abstraction.
Tiffany has been amazed by what can be produced when she lets go and allows her instincts to guide the paintbrush. It turns out she really enjoys the looseness and sense of freedom that's borne from relinquishing control. Being someone who likes to be in control in life, the 'let's see what happens' approach doesn't come easily but ultimately is freedom personified!
Happily, the possibilities are endless.
In the early 60s, Tiffany's father worked in the NT and ACT with Indigenous communities and as a family, they spent a lot of time in the outback. She feels completely at home there; she hung out at Hermannsberg in the NT and found it hard to leave, and one of the most enjoyable times of her life was working as a stage assistant on the play 'Namatjira', a sensitively told life story of artist Albert Namatjira.
Together with her exhibition partner Christinaray, this exhibition has been 4 years in the making. Since then the artists have got to know each other well and their work has, without intention, become closely aligned. Tiffany is really proud to finally be exhibiting with Chrissy.
Bio
Working from her home studio in Bayside Melbourne, Tiffany McKay is excited to reintroduce herself to the Melbourne art scene with a new body of work.
Traditionally specialising in oils, Tiffany has since expanded her literacy in other mediums in co-evolution with her artistic style; now primarily working with acrylics, pastels and paint makers, as well incorporating elements of collage, gold leaf, high-flow inks and embracing sand as a medium.
Her primary inspiration is nature and she aims to portray nature's inherent complexity yet from an observer's perspective its subtleness and beauty.
As a child, Tiffany won her category in The Young World Art Awards and her painting was selected to be exhibited in the ABC Building.
Completing art studies at school, Tiffany studied Visual Arts, resulting in successful exhibitions in South Australia and Victoria, including the SHQ exhibition in Sandringham where she sold 5 out of 6 paintings, and OLSH in McKinnon where she won her category.
Following a long hiatus, this exhibition, Colour Fusion, represents a re-emergence of the artist's career symbolic of her transformation as a visual artist.
Christinaray Weetra
Christinaray Weetra started painting when she was a child to help her get through the difficult times in life. Growing up in a community has always shown her how important it is to give back and help where you can, which led her to volunteer. She was nominated and won ‘The Young Citizen of the Year’ Award from Stonnington Council in 2013 for being engaged in ‘the local Indigenous/Non-Indigenous Community’s for Outstanding Volunteer Work’.
In 2018 Chrissy was looking for a new way to improve my art skills when a friend suggested a community group they heard of called “Make Your Mark” and soon she started attending the workshops and being an active participant in the most recent mural project, community consultation and exhibition.
Chrissy came to MYM with her own set of artistic skills and merit, and as one of the older participants, exhibited leadership in the workshops. Mentoring, educating the group about indigenous art and symbols and sharing her skills in Dot painting. Chrissy delivers regular workshops to the MYM group each term where body of work is created.
Chrissy has spent the last 10 years trying to perfect her cultural art style, to find the best way to express what’s going on inside of herself, as well as the difficulties we face in life and how we overcome them. Chrissy has only ever shown her art at local community events and has done commissions on the side but this year she won the 2018 Start-up scholarship competition with Stonnington Council and Colab Australia which started in January this year.
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)
