Mixed media collage on paper

2021

Paper work: 20cm H x 14cm W | Framed size: 29.5cm H x 24.5cm W

One-of-a-kind

Framed in waxed Tasmanian oak with perspex

This piece features in Diana Miller’s solo show ‘In the Quiet’ showing at Curatorial+Co. in November 2021.

Says Diana of her exhibition: “Although it may look like my art is just about shapes and colours there is an autobiographical component to it too. I am always documenting my relationship to the environment and my daily experiences. Shape-making is a big part of my practice and making collages and drawings is how I go about creating shapes as my starting point. This process is a playful one, embracing experimentation and failure and allows me to create visual content that can ultimately feed into my paintings. I seem to think in shape and colour and these are the devices of my visual language. My brain seems to like composing and analysing compositions and observing the dialogues going on within.

Because collage is such a big part of my process, for this show I wanted to elevate this humble method of making and scale my small collages up into large paintings. It’s something I have wanted to do for a while but haven’t had the confidence to. When I started making this show, it was winter, Covid was ever-present and I felt a distinct need to turn inward and away from the noise and distress of the world. Kind of like an exercise in self-preservation. I needed quiet and alone time. My studio is my safe-haven, but in addition I have my daily meditation practice, my morning beach walks and my yoga classes.

It is in the quietness of the mornings with only the sound of the ocean, or of my breath that I reconnect to nature and sink into myself. This is the time when I can hear myself think and where I have most clarity.  More and more I have been bringing that quietude back into the studio with me. In place of loud music I’ve been listening to gentle classics or just working in complete silence, shutting out the noise and going into my quiet place to make this body of work.

For me this show has been a way to regain some control and order in a world that now feels very out of whack and fear-infused.”