Saturday 27 June 5pm-7pm
Studio8 Currumbin
Join contemporary artist Meli Axford for an intimate and deeply personal artist talk exploring creativity, identity, reinvention and the emotional journey behind her Pool Series, now in its seventh year.
“For years I thought I was painting swimming pools. It turns out I was painting something else entirely.
Over the last few years I've done a lot of work to understand my own psychology, emotional patterns and creative process, and through that work I began to realise that my paintings were telling me things long before I consciously understood them.
In this artist talk I'll be sharing the story behind that discovery.
We'll talk about creativity, identity, late beginnings, self-doubt, motherhood, neuroscience, personal growth and how art can become a surprisingly powerful tool for understanding ourselves.
If you've ever wondered why you're drawn to certain things, how creativity shapes us, or whether it's too late to become more fully yourself, I think you'll enjoy this conversation.
I'd love to see you there.”
Known for her vibrant figurative paintings that reimagine the Australian landscape through the lens of family, memory and the female gaze, Axford will speak candidly about her unconventional path into art - from a working-class upbringing in regional Queensland and a long career in technology, to becoming a nationally exhibited painter whose work explores love, safety, visibility and freedom for women and girls.
Part memoir, part creative reflection and part conversation about contemporary culture, this evening will move beyond the surface of the paintings to explore the psychological and emotional forces that shaped them. Axford will discuss how painting became a process of self-discovery, and how meaning in her work often emerged long after the paintings themselves were made, what she now describes as “her subconscious speaking to her through paint.”
On the surface it's an artist talk, but the truth is it's really about the journey I've been on over the last few years.
For most of my life I genuinely thought I was doing fine. I didn't realise how many of my behaviours, reactions and beliefs were actually coping mechanisms I'd developed much earlier in life. They helped me get through things, but they were also getting in the way of the relationships and life I wanted to create.
A big turning point for me was beginning to understand the science of how our brains work and realising that we're not fixed. Through a combination of neuroscience, personal development and, surprisingly, my art practice, I started to see myself much more clearly.
One of the things I'll talk about openly is how this affected my relationship with Bob and the girls. Some of the most important growth I've experienced came from being loved enough for someone to hold me accountable for behaviours that weren't serving me. Looking back, I can see that what felt difficult at the time was actually an act of enormous love.
Painting became part of that process. Long before I understood what was happening consciously, my subconscious was expressing itself through the work. The paintings helped me uncover things about myself that I couldn't yet put into words.
The talk is about creativity and art, but it's also about reinvention, identity, relationships, emotional regulation and the idea that it's never too late to become more fully yourself.
Saturday 27 June 5pm-7pm
Studio8 Currumbin
Join contemporary artist Meli Axford for an intimate and deeply personal artist talk exploring creativity, identity, reinvention and the emotional journey behind her Pool Series, now in its seventh year.
“For years I thought I was painting swimming pools. It turns out I was painting something else entirely.
Over the last few years I've done a lot of work to understand my own psychology, emotional patterns and creative process, and through that work I began to realise that my paintings were telling me things long before I consciously understood them.
In this artist talk I'll be sharing the story behind that discovery.
We'll talk about creativity, identity, late beginnings, self-doubt, motherhood, neuroscience, personal growth and how art can become a surprisingly powerful tool for understanding ourselves.
If you've ever wondered why you're drawn to certain things, how creativity shapes us, or whether it's too late to become more fully yourself, I think you'll enjoy this conversation.
I'd love to see you there.”
Known for her vibrant figurative paintings that reimagine the Australian landscape through the lens of family, memory and the female gaze, Axford will speak candidly about her unconventional path into art - from a working-class upbringing in regional Queensland and a long career in technology, to becoming a nationally exhibited painter whose work explores love, safety, visibility and freedom for women and girls.
Part memoir, part creative reflection and part conversation about contemporary culture, this evening will move beyond the surface of the paintings to explore the psychological and emotional forces that shaped them. Axford will discuss how painting became a process of self-discovery, and how meaning in her work often emerged long after the paintings themselves were made, what she now describes as “her subconscious speaking to her through paint.”
On the surface it's an artist talk, but the truth is it's really about the journey I've been on over the last few years.
For most of my life I genuinely thought I was doing fine. I didn't realise how many of my behaviours, reactions and beliefs were actually coping mechanisms I'd developed much earlier in life. They helped me get through things, but they were also getting in the way of the relationships and life I wanted to create.
A big turning point for me was beginning to understand the science of how our brains work and realising that we're not fixed. Through a combination of neuroscience, personal development and, surprisingly, my art practice, I started to see myself much more clearly.
One of the things I'll talk about openly is how this affected my relationship with Bob and the girls. Some of the most important growth I've experienced came from being loved enough for someone to hold me accountable for behaviours that weren't serving me. Looking back, I can see that what felt difficult at the time was actually an act of enormous love.
Painting became part of that process. Long before I understood what was happening consciously, my subconscious was expressing itself through the work. The paintings helped me uncover things about myself that I couldn't yet put into words.
The talk is about creativity and art, but it's also about reinvention, identity, relationships, emotional regulation and the idea that it's never too late to become more fully yourself.
