Beth Norling, 2006
'Nothing To Hold On To'
Plasticine, wall-paper, tape, cardboard, tracing paper and oil-paint.
32cm x 27cm x 10cm , 2006
The use of a subtle, constrained palette within a small sculptural environment engenders a modesty and privacy that is at once evident and yet concealed. Plasticine sits upon the picture plane with a fluidity that implies both decay and growth, and is rendered with the delicacy of lace or fabric which complements the feminine mood of the work.
The empty/receding qualities of the piece, reflected in the nothingness of the title, are accentuated by the artists use of 'impermanent' materials: plasticene, cardboard, paper tape and wallpaper. "Nothing to hold onto..." is a small, private and feminine world, a gentle, optimistic contemplation of impermanence, a work 'about' absence that still retains a strong visual and emotional presence.
Beth Norling was born in Sydney, and lives and works in the Blue Mountains, she will have her first solo show at the Tin Sheds Gallery early in 2008
Nothing To Hold On To, 2006
