Variations on a theme

Thank you for your introduction and Acknowledgement of Country.

I’m delighted to welcome you here this afternoon to celebrate the opening of Variations on a theme – new connections; an extraordinary presentation of new works by Christine Druitt-Preston.

The other day, I heard someone recalling Aristotle’s claim that the role of art was not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance. When I look at Christine’s work, I am reminded of this truth as I see these exquisitely delicate and beautifully crafted personal worlds that explore the space between our outer world and inner existence.

I am captivated by a sense of present absence. Rooms, domestic spaces, gardens filled with a human presence yet absent from view. I see spaces alive with memory of family and friends AND the sanctuary of the singular artist in her own space – in her room of one’s own. 

Christine was telling me about her studio space the other day. I am not surprised by the subject matter of Christine’s work. Her studio is her home. Her so-called dining table, a designated space for imagination and creation. Here Christine’s domestic world falls directly into her art world. The sanctuary of her home, spills into her prints.

It sounds like little has changed over the past 3 decades…. Katy explained to me that as a baby, she would stay occupied in a cardboard box for hours beside the dining table – as her mum would be immersed in her world of creating; Katy was joyfully playing alongside in her splendid cardboard box.

But Christine’s art extends beyond her own domestic space. This new body of work is based on drawings made while visiting friends in Mudgee, Rosebank and during a residency at the Nancy Fairfax Studio at Tweed Regional Gallery in Murwillumbah. 

What I was excited to experience in Christine’s work today, was her continuing experimentation with materiality. Christine is pushing the boundaries of print-making and exploring and experimenting with a range media. Across the exhibition you will see lino block prints, collage, watercolour, machine stitching and embroidery. Practices deployed to recall the significance of earlier women artists and artisans and her ongoing interest in domestic themes.

I have known Christine for the past 7 years – primarily through her work as one of our leading art teachers in Sydney. Although Christine is no longer teaching, her understanding of the value of connecting audiences and artists is clear.  For the duration of the exhibition, Christine is embedding herself within the gallery space. Her dining table will have a small reprieve, as she will spend time here each day, cutting a lino block and generously sharing her process and practice with students and the wider community.

I hope you all enjoy the opportunity to spend time looking at, discovering, exploring and finding your own personal meaning in these works. I congratulate Christine on this beautiful and delicate exhibition and officially declare Variations on a theme – new connections, open.

Opening address by Heather Whitely Robertson, Head of Learning and Participation, AGNSW – ‘Variations on a Theme – New Connections’ Willoughby Incinerator Art Space 2018