‘After nearly three decades living and working in the city, the genesis of this work was my return to my country studio on the South Coast of NSW. This grounding gave me the new freedom to explore my relationship with the rich diversity of life, and a freedom to immerse myself in nature and memory’.

‘Travel has been an intrinsic feature of my life. I carry a sketchbook, recording the immediacy of new images and thoughts, supplemented with many photographs trying to capture the essence of place… a valuable reference and a catalyst for new work.’

‘In my studio, memory returns to the specific unique character of each location as these sketches and notations illicit an intuitive subconscious reaction in the act of applying paint.

Referencing latitude and longitude holds me in place while time travels in reminiscence… the excitement I felt while travelling through Central and South America.. a conscious response in primary, vibrant, even discordant, colour… heat, dance, music, rhythm, passion, rich colour combinations and patterns, ornate decoration, romance, spirituality… all swirl in memory – a rich ‘mole’ of joy! – as my senses were ignited by Hispanic and ancient traditional cultures Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec..’

‘I managed to travel to Bangkok and Cambodia just prior to the Covid lockdown. In response to the long tail and canalboats, temples and structures, my work became richer with layered paint and gestural mark-making… exploring memory, and time… as I scrape, pour, scratch and build up surface….’

~ Judy Trick, June 2021