Lissa-Jane de Sailles (AUS), Red Waratah Girl
Lissa-Jane de Sailles (AUS), Red Waratah Girl
ABOUT THE PIECE
‘Red Waratah Girl is a hybrid camellia fairy living in a garden in the Shoalhaven in NSW. Some people are not sure where she has come from as she resembles the iconic red waratah of the Australian bush but also the ‘Red Waratah’ camellia. We see glimpses of her in the garden occasionally at the end of winter when she blooms but most of the time, she is off with the fairies doing what fairies do,’ (extract from Artist’s Statement).
In the making of Red Waratah Girl, around fifteen hundred petals were unfurled. This involved at least thirty hours of unfurling and the piece in total took over two hundred hours to make. Although a resident of New South Wales, Lissa-Jane spent several weeks in Tasmania prior to the event to complete the unfurling.
MATERIALS
The piece is 100% twisted Japanese tissue paper.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Among a number of creative pursuits, Lissa-Jane is best known as a basketry and fibre artist. She has travelled extensively to pursue excellence in her arts practice. She consistently exhibits both in Australia and overseas, and has been awarded numerous residencies and scholarships. Although a prolific solo artist, Lissa-Jane also makes time to teach and run workshops.
Lissa-Jane on what inspires her paper art: ‘A deep love of the natural world, the Australian bush and a love of camellias seem to reappear as motifs in my work. Traditional craft work such as twining with paper connect me to practices where time and motion become secondary to the creative process. My paper art becomes a record of visual experiences of fleeting moments of beauty in a complex and ever-changing world’.
JUDGES NOTES
From judge Greg Leong’s speech at the Gala Event and Award Evening, 17th June, 2022
‘What a beautiful work it is, with the most wondrous silhouette, with the paper simply but complexly moving when worn...’