Karen Coull

Sunshine Coast National Art Prize 2024 - Finalist

_{[Image courtesy of the artist]}

Artist Statement

"Whenever I visit her, she gives me cuttings. All of mine are from familiar places." (Bell & Hawkes, Generations p 25) 
 
My background is rooted in and formed by the profound narrative of the multi-generational, fundamentalist, religious women in my family. Shaped and sustained by their strict religious codes and dutiful in their piety and faith. The women abstained from alcohol, dressed modestly and their musical world limited music to hymns and the family piano. 

A portrait of virtue in the pursuit of perfection within their faith. However, within these stringent confines, a poignant paradox unfolded and the relentless quest for perfection eroded their inherent substance, rendering them unseen and cloaked in invisibility. 

The complex interplay between faith, tradition, and the struggle for identity. Despite their virtuous exterior and adherence to the religious demands they grappled with the subtle cost of conformity and invisibility. 

This work sits parallel to my current art practice which speaks to my personal journey of ageing and this cloak of invisibility as an ageing woman. 

I am an artist with a 30-year plus art practice that embraces a continuous obsession of honouring recycle/reuse within my practice. I celebrate the found, the unwanted and the discarded. I am especially drawn to incorporating vintage books, papers/cardboard and found objects in my artwork. I use collage, mixed media, found objects and needlework to make new stories and to investigate notions of history, grief and loss and how the past informs us. 

I fossick through the notions that devalue the female/domestic sphere and emphasise the anecdotal and the ‘small’ story in my practice. The small stories that give things meaning or enable understanding. Ageing informs my current/continuing series; ‘Invisible Women’, ‘Journey to the Year I became Invisible’, 'Small Stories' and ‘Soft Touch’, which map and document my personal journey of ageing.