Artist statement Helene Power
Helene Power, besides being joint owner of the motel Helene has also worked as a visual artist using soft pastels, pencils and clay. Her point of focus has been the Australian landscape, taking inspiration from the strong and vibrant energy of the vast plains, the red dirt, the heat intensity and the dust storms. She has been fascinated by how the landscape stands in strong contrast to that of Denmark, where she grew up. Her work will be part of the Outback Colour & Wind exhibition at the Lodge Outback Motel.
What do you think are the most important characteristics of your art?
Environmental art often takes its form as an installation a way to reframe the context and make it more permanent. According to Tate UK ‘Environmental art is an art-form that addresses social I interact with inspiring landscapes as a process of reflecting powerful experiences. From there I try to recreate form taken from this journey using a number of art mediums. My work tools include soft pastels, pencils and clay, mediums that I have worked with throughout most of my life.
One aspect of my work, by way of example, has been revisiting old drawings and adding details of light and depth with the purpose of accentuating new artistic expression of the Outback.
What is the main thing you want your art to communicate to viewers?
reate a connection with what is in front of us, to enjoy what surrounds us and appreciate the intricate details of our environment. My first impression of Outback landscape has been of a very rugged terrain that has little life. Further on from this experience comes knowledge of an area that is very susceptible to change, a few millimetres of rain and new growth appears everywhere
What makes your process and approach different from that of other artists?
My process is about peeling away those thoughts running around in my head to find a moment of peace where I can just be me. Working with art pieces is a way of finding that moment. I begin my process with a layer of randomly placed colours and from there I workout the underlying connections kind of mirroring what I see in nature.
