By ELISSA RATLIFF
“I paint, I draw, I write, and I photograph the world around me. I am inspired by the beautiful, the ugly, the evanescent. I am forever striving to emulate the wonder and fragility which the subject emits. Exploring the intangible and indescribable, to try and pin down the mystery of nature and of oneself…always slightly out of reach.”
This is Melbourne artist, Katie Young’s view on her own work.
It features on her website, and sums up her body of work perfectly.
Katie, a photographer, drawer, painter and all round artist finds comfort in painting. “I do believe my best work is done during times when I’m not as happy as I could be. Creating is therapeutic, and I think it releases a lot of energy that I’m holding onto. I know that when I’m not doing something creative, I feel I go a little bit crazy.”
Her work, which often falls into the melancholy and existential, is also captivating.
”People are what inspire me the most, the complexity and uniqueness of each individual” she says.
“I’m often told [my work is] quite melancholy, people are surprised when they meet me that I’m usually bubbly and smiling. It’s not intentional at all – my work just seems to develop that way. It’s a means of expressing parts of myself that I don’t feel comfortable doing in other ways.”
We have all felt the feelings that Katie is talking about – and that’s what makes her work so relatable.
To see more of Katie’s work visit her website here, and her Facebook page here.
This post is part of Mamamia’s art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project. Every week we celebrate emerging artists, designers, illustrators, creators and women who knit using their vaginas. (Kidding. Maybe.)
Our aim: to help the internet become a slightly more beautiful, captivating, or thought-provoking place by making art accessible. To find out more about the Voulez-Vous project, click here. Click here to see all the previous Voulez-Vous posts.
Do you know an artist (or are YOU an artist) who creates beautiful or thought-provoking work and whom you think should be featured on Mamamia’s Voulez-Vous Project? Send an email to info@mamamia.com.au.
