Arteles Catalogue 2023-2020

Write & Create program / NOVEMBER 2022
Alexandra McTavish
Australia
www.bravemoveart.com
About
Born in Hong Kong to Australian parents, Alexandra’s works
examine notions of gender, sexuality, nature, and solitude.
She works instinctively on paper and canvas with oils,
acrylics, ink and watercolours.
Alex is also a professional voice artist and her project at
Arteles seek to examine the liminal space between visual art
and sound art. She is interested in the psychological effects
of sound and while her audio collages aim to complement
her visual works, they also stand alone to prompt viewers to
introspect.
Alex lives and works on the unceded lands of the
Quandamooka people of Moreton Bay in Mianjin (Brisbane),
Australia.
Metsän Rouva (Lady of the Forest)
Arteles, both the place and its residents, proved a place of
immense healing for me. I arrived sick and tired (after 43.5
hours in transit) with tons of (emotional) baggage. I hibernated
for a few days, only to emerge to find the most beautiful
group of artists to share art, meditation, conversation, and
laughter. I swiftly fell into a routine – early morning coffee
chats, meditation, art, walks, sauna and cold lake swims.
I couldn’t paint for the first week. Instead, I walked the
neighboring forest for inspiration. And slept, a lot. Those two
things created the photographic collages on the neighbouring
page.
Metsän Rouva (Lady of the Forest) is a series inspired by the
Finnish forests. The forests felt very feminine to me and the
birch trees, in particular, called to me. The pine trees hold a
more masculine place in Finnish folklore and they too spoke
to a different aspect of the very personal works.
After these pieces, the floodgates opened and I was able
to paint again. In fact, I was prolific! I returned with two
exhibitions worth of works that go on display in 2023 – a
series of watercolour works and some abstract oils.
I did not do the project I pitched to Teemu, but that said, I
have all I need to create my sound work now I am back home
to my studio.
I am so grateful for my time at Arteles. It was a monastic
experience in many ways and just what I needed to heal from
long held wounds.