
PATRICK HARTIGAN
MOTHER'S BIRTHDAY
24 Aug – 18 Sep 2011
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- left to right: “View from front window”, 2007, watercolour and pencil on paper, 15 x 21cm ; “Grace at home”, 2009, watercolour on paper, 18 x 13cm ; “Man weeding”, 2009, watercolour on paper, 18 x 13cm ; “Untitled”, watercolour on paper, 15 x 21cm
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- top to bottom: “Granpa’s lamp-shade”, 2008, grey lead pencil on paper, 15 x 21cm ; “Off”, 2007, watercolour on paper, 15 x 21cm ; “Washing machine”, 2007, watercolour and pencil on paper, 15 x 21cm
PATRICK HARTIGAN | Artist Statement, 2011
The exploration of specific emotion through biblical subjects including the Madonna and child has a long and powerful precedent in painting history. One encounters this subject constantly in the museums, but in Australia I noticed an interesting link to this history in family snapshots from the 1940s and 50s. In formal terms the photographic aesthetic from this era shows vestiges of painting history in the form of tightly composed images – often centered on a mother and child. However, unlike earlier photos these images were taken outside of the studio, in more domestic settings – on a front lawn, for example. Beginning with these images I have gradually narrowed my focus around the specific emotional qualities of the female subjects, usually mothers.
- Patrick Hartigan, March 2011