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We conversed with Thorby, while on a ‘time out’ from painting in the studio, for a quick 10-minute interview.
What is happening in the gallery today?
I am working on an installation called ‘Perception of Place’. I am challenging the notion of what the space ”is”, by changing the gallery into a lounge room and inviting volunteers from the community to sit and have their portrait painted. The portraits will be hung around the room as each one is finished, to create a picture gallery of ‘family members’.
Is portraiture the central focus of your practice?
I am interested in figurative work but it’s not my sole practice.
Who is an artist who has influenced your work?
For this project I went to the AGNSW and looked at the Lucian Freud and also looked at paintings by Mary Cassatt.
Who would you love to paint given the chance?
Ooh that’s a curly one, maybe the Dalai Lama.
Do you attend life-drawing sessions?
Usually as often as possible.
What is the most recent art exhibition that you where in?
The ‘Celebration show’ at North Art Space which was an exhibition to celebrate the first year in the gallery. Before that ‘New Territories’ in which I exhibited a sculpture from my continued investigation into plastics and detritus from the oceans.
What is next after this current installation is finished?
I am finishing a portrait painting of the artist Dick Watkins. I’ll also continue working on a landscape series tackling the waste plastic that litters our shores and oceans.
Alex Thorby is one of the founding members of North Contemporary Art Space. She has been a finalist in the: Portia Geach Memorial Art Award, Salon des Refusés, Moran Portrait Prize, North Sydney Art Prize, and The Paddington Art Prize. Her works are held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the New England Regional Museum.
North Contemporary Art Space (North) is a new ARI (artist run initiative) operating in North Sydney for the past 12 months. North is a site for experimentation, a space to create new work to be tested and for new ideas to take flight. North encourages a plurality of voices making connections between artists, writers and the wider community. The founding directors are Tamsin Salehian, Alex Thorby, Ingrid van de Aa and Fleur Wiber. The gallery is located at 53 Ridge Street, North Sydney and open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 – 4 pm during exhibitions
