Stage 1 – Painting my first layer of a ground/stain of dark blue. 300 w x 215 h cm, acrylic paint on canvas.Stage 2 – Beginning to lay in the composition for the painting. You can see the hint of a stream and landscape with a group of figures.Stage 3 – Developing the painting with more detail and colour. Pushing and pulling areas of the background, texture and colours.Stage 3 continued – More details painted into the work and figures. Details of the grass and plants and birds are worked on, and now I can begin to go into the details and work on specific areas.I have chosen to insert contemporary animals and birds into the work. Here is a pigeon that I photographed in the park near my home. When I went for my walk, I began photographing contemporary references to insert into the painting. It is important for me to have contemporary elements in the work, as I want it to be relevant to todays society and issues.In this close up you can see a few new details appearing. Three female figures sit under a tree, one holds a bottle, the other has a phone and is listening to music on headphones. I wanted to paint the plants that I saw in the park, and in the distance there are 2 figures wading in a stream (potentially Adam and Eve.)
Latifah Stranack
Born to parents from the East and the West, Latifah has always been fascinated by cultural hybridity and how this has shaped her senses, and the lens through which she experiences the world. In pursuit of a fleeting moment, she contextualises and reframes the presence and absence of family members and belongings.
Partially revealed, Latifah attempts to collapse her present reality and bring the past to life, forever layered in washes of paint, helping her work through subconscious emotions and fears. The work she is compelled to create, enables and empowers her to make sense of who she is.