Grace Stevenson
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting)
I work with a combination of portraiture and pattern in traditional styles, focusing on restoring the life of an unknown person’s identity through pattern and colour. I construct patterns using repetitive shapes and colours derived from the portraits, bringing life to the anonymous person’s identity.
Drawing inspiration from unique archives found in markets and op-shops, I’m interested in the unfamiliarity of these people, and the enigmatic nature of portrait photography in the mid to late 1800s. These portraits are disrupted with bright contrasting colours inspired by the colouring methods of photography in this era, restoring bygone lives. Patterns are used to alter the viewer’s perception of these lost identities.