‘Drawn in Fairfield’ is an exhibition of hyper-realistic drawings of homes in Sydney’s south-western Fairfield City by artist Catherine O’Donnell. O’Donnell has long had a fascination with weatherboard and fibro style public housing from the 1960-70s. This exhibition presents impeccably drawn charcoal images of houses in Fairfield from this era, inviting the viewer to find the aesthetic poetry embedded within the suburban landscape.
O’Donnell often refines bodies of works that explore human relationships with varying environemnts through precision and omission. This includes the detailed, monochromatic renderings of desolate urban environments that highlight both the traces of human existence and the overlooked landscapes we live in.
“It is the architecture of the suburban landscape which is the subject in my drawings. The absence of the representation of people in the drawings encourages viewers to consider the architecture from their own view point, perhaps igniting their own memories of suburban living. My drawings whilst uninhabited still capture traces of human intervention with narrative elements embedded in the commonplace structures: an open window; a door ajar.” – Catherine O’Donnell
Fairfield City Museum and Gallery
Until 6 August, 2016
Sydney
Urban Dwellings, 2016, series 3, pencil on paper, 25.5 x 56cm
