Helen NGUYEN
Perspective 2017
from the series Perspective: Single Cube
ink-jet print 75.0 x 75.0 cm
reproduction courtesy of the artist and Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak
TOPshots 2017-18 Finalist
VCE Studio Arts 3&4
Artist statement:
Growing up, I have always been inspired by the bursts of orange melting into the sea; a time of day when the sky appears to be painted by the warmth of an artistic hand, where the sight of the horizons makes me dream. Sunsets can mark a day’s end, but it can also mark the beauty of a new beginning. For my Studio Art finals this year, my objective was to create a phenomenon of colour, bringing life to the simple things we often forget to see. There are depths of possibility that arise from a changed perspective. Whether we find ourselves at the bottom of the mountain or on top of the world, overlooking the sea, the sun carries with it the warmth of hope, an unchanged beauty that does not dissolve depending on where we stand. “Beauty can be found even in the simplest things, if only one adjusts to see the light.”
This series began with an intention to recreate the beauty of a sunset in a renewed, creatively interpreted manner. When I was walking down the beach one day at sunset, I started thinking about how different people interpret what they see in different ways. I started imagining what the sunset would look like as a cube and this lead to the development of my sunset interpretation.
My first artwork in this series aims to evoke a pastel tranquility through the soft, gentle aesthetic. There is a surreal elegance in the pink, pastel colours that creates a balmy and comforting visual perspective. Meanwhile, my second image, reveals a bolder, more texturised aesthetic. The ocean was captured with its rough textures that dynamically contrast with the cotton-candy sky. The high vibrancy makes the image appear alive, as I illustrated the vivid, theatrical energy of the ocean, despite its frozen motion. This allowed me to communicate a visual perspective on the ocean in both its rigorous, majestic force and peaceful stillness.
