2021 ZONTA Ashburton Art Gallery Exhibition

'Consumed'

I am in the concert band and jazz band, and find humour in the fact that the musicians within them take on the names of their instruments. For example, the conductor addresses the saxophonists as saxes, likewise flautists are known as flutes; trumpet players as trumpets. 

I often find myself overwhelmed in the consistent practice, other elements of my life suppressed by the need to play. The musician breathes life into the instrument in order for it to sing, but sometimes I draw comparisons to a ventilator, the instrument allowing the musician to breathe, suffocating without it. I decided to take these ideas, and explore how the instrument consumes the musician; the lines blurred between who is playing who.

Through these ideas there is a contrast created between the instrument’s enabling effects, and the destruction it can cause. When viewing this painting, one is left to decide whether the instrument creates her death, or replaces her lungs.