Cornelia Burless's exhibition ‘Aunts & Other Places' dispels many of our conceptions of childhood and innocence, as well as gives a new understanding of country life to the many city slickers who will view her work at Arteral Gallery, Rozelle, 5 – 29 June .
Cornelia Burless is an emerging artist who has also been very successfully shown at ‘Off the Wall' at Art Melbourne and Art Sydney and is able to challenge many concepts through a fresh and young perspective with the depth of a much more mature artist.
Recent speculation by the media about the cutting short of childhood is also broached. Fifteen brand new works in this exhibition explore the conflicting experiences present in all childhoods and a takes a fresh look at ‘simple' farm life.
Traditional European children's stories and nostalgic images from farm life are recurring subjects in Cornelia Burless's works. These children's fairytales and fables were originally used as cautionary tales and often include sinister characters and violent plots, which out of context, are quite confronting. Stories such as Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel depict children and their vulnerability to outside predators. Although sometimes an uncomfortable thought, this concern is one that resonates with the viewer.
Cornelia's experience of her own children growing up influences her exploration of the rapid speed with which childhood now passes us by. Through her experience of becoming a mother, Cornelia became conscience of a new level of depth of concern and love for someone else. A concern which is demonstrated in many of her paintings. These works are not just about fairytales, but describe the human condition.
Cornelia Burless's work explores not only the violence against children but violence perpetuated by them. A sense of being watched or stalked is often expressed in her ‘lost series'. For example, Lost 5 presents a young boy holding a shot gun; a shocking and confronting depiction of the cruelty of children.
Looking back on childhood experiences can often be painful but the sensitivity and deft technique used by Cornelia makes for an enlightening as much as a confronting experience. These works question the innocence of childhood and explore an underlying sense of despair and violence sometimes present in seemingly happy circumstances.
Cornelia Burless also dispels another common myth, this time about country life of which she has experience, first hand. She lives on a working farm in the Northern Rivers and is able to combine this with an objective look at the way in which ‘the simple life' is idolized. Her works also combine a more European take on farm life, bringing her international background (she is of German origin) to a rural Australia .
Cornelia grew up in a small town in Bavaria , Germany and came to Australia when she was eighteen in the 1990's.
Cornelia attributes her nostalgic practice to her immigrant background where ‘the homeland' is often looked back on with a sense of longing. Country scenes take a look back at early farming practices and the people involved with them (the women in many of the paintings are Cornelia's actual Aunts from Germany ).
Her mixed media works use nostalgic photographs which are digitally manipulated and then used as a guide when painted with acrylic on board. Through this technique the graphic style of the photographs contrast with the more detailed painting techniques to create multi-dimensional works. Cornelia Burless's works are able dispel the worry-free concept of farm life and also look at the hard labour involved in the process.
