Peta Dzubiel is a Sydney based painter. She studied at UNSW College of Fine Arts and has exhibited at Cowra Regional Gallery NSW, Adelaide Central Gallery SA, Vaucluse House NSW, Hawthorn Town Hall Gallery VIC, Danks Street Depot NSW and Mary Place Gallery NSW. Peta has been a finalist twice in the Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship and the William Fletcher Travelling Fellowship, as well as an artist-in-residence at Bundanon Trust NSW.
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| Peta Dzubiel, Lost, 2012, oil on linen, 35 x 35 cm |
My current painting practice explores the tradition of landscape with a focus on the temporal; the idea that places remember their past whilst always being at the mercy of human intervention and other forces of change. I work with elements of pictorial ambiguity and mystery to explore these themes, sometimes evoking a bygone era, but remaining contemporary through the use of a variety of materials, processes and the deployment of discontinuous space.
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| Peta Dzubiel, After them, 2013, oil on canvas, 76 x 91 cm |
I am interested in the notion of a broken narrative and pictorial investigations into a sense of ‘the other’ that is felt in particular places and environments. A similar sensibility is often explored in literature and films such as Joan Lindsey’s Picnic at Hanging Rock. I am attracted to this ambiguity explored in Australian film and literature and wish to imbue these themes in my paintings. I feel that this ambiguity is pertinent to the Australian landscape and bush setting. This unique aspect of Australian mythology has been explored by artists, writers, film makers and Aboriginal dream time stories and sacred sites. Their influences resonate with my imagination and painting endeavours to depict this sensibility which envelopes the landscape.
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| Peta Dzubiel, McKenzies' Drowning, 2013, oil on linen, 51 x 76 cm |
During my residency at Gunyah, I plan to develop a series of paintings and drawings that explore the anxiety the Australian bush through ‘lost children’ narratives. My work will be influenced by the text, The Country of Lost Children, by Peter Pierce. The wonder and intrigue of the Australian bush and landscape causes children to wander beyond the safety of their known environment, often to their detriment and peril. I plan to make works that explore the figure in an Australian bush setting. These figure/field relationships are a means by which I can express the psychological and metaphysical aspects of ‘Landscape’. The bushland setting of North Arm Cove will aid in the development of this work.
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| Peta Dzubiel, Approaching, 2012, oil on primed paper, 35 x 35 cm |
