Dalin Alejandrino’s Mesmerising New Body of Work
Sydney-based artist Dalin Alejandrino’s upcoming solo exhibition, Provincial Sunset, pays homage to her Cambodian heritage. Her abstract works — channelling Cambodia’s provincial countryside — are driven by concepts of searching for identity and connection.
Words & Photography: Hande Renshaw
Dalin Alejandrino in her sunlit Sydney studio. Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘My creativity is driven by the ever-changing patterns of nature, the land and sunlight – it’s pure magic and I want to capture that beauty in my artwork,’ says Dalin Alejandrino. Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘The artworks [from my latest collection] have emerged as a gestural palette and spontaneous brushstrokes, which speaks to the evolution and progression of my artistic practice,’ says Dalin Alejandrino. Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘For the new series I wanted to explore warmer colours and textures in an abstract impressionistic form, while still using mixed media including acrylic, oil sticks, spray paint and glass beads to create subtle texture.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘I’m a minimalist at heart, but working with warm, earthy tones and bright sunset colours have brought up different emotions in my work that needed to come out.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
Like many creatives we’ve interviewed, being home during lockdown nudged Sydney-based artist Dalin Alejandrino into a creative endeavour she’d previously had little time to fuel.
‘During Covid, I was bound to the walls of my small apartment, so had a lot of time to reflect – I knew innately that I’ve always been creative since I was a child,’ she says, ‘Slowly, I picked up my brushes and palette knives and simply painted – as my daughter was learning to crawl, I was learning to fall in love with painting all over again. In a way the act was cathartic and my inner child was smiling with joy.’ Dalin hasn't stopped painting since.
Dalin’s foray into art began at a young age – one of her earliest memories is when her late father took her to the local bank to view an exhibition, because fortuitously, her own artwork had been selected to be displayed there. It was later during high school that she truly learnt to understand art and design, and her passion was ignited once again.
Today, the artist has made the commitment to focus on her art any chance she gets, recently moving into a shared studio space where she can fully allow her creative side to ‘run wild’ and create her beautiful layered abstract works, ‘I fill my jars with water, pick up the paints and brushes, and simply make a mark on canvas… any mark. This gets me focused and in a flow state,’ says Dalin of her process.
Painting comes intuitively for Dalin, once an idea or concept pops up, it’s an organic process to see where it will lead her. ‘It’s almost as though my soul is speaking through my body onto the canvas – each mark is guided with purpose. I’ll start on the base layer and work up the texture if it feels right. If the translucency in the water mixtures flows well then I’ll tend to play round with that at first. I’ll then add gestural marks and spontaneous brush strokes, as my way of exploring colour and subtle textures in an abstract impressionistic form.’
‘My current body of work, Provincial Sunset, is my most memorable collection because I’m tapping into a space of healing and trying to convey a personal story about home and belonging, as well as estrangement from land and family.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
“The biggest influences behind my latest body of work are themes of family and home, land and country.”
‘I believe there’s always a purpose to art, and the viewer can take away as much or as little as they need from it.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘The best lessons I’ve learned so far is to not overthink it, just keep making – stamp out that imposter syndrome and get comfortable with being uncomfortable.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘For my current body of work, Provincial Sunset, I printed out photos of my time in Cambodia for inspiration and reflection – I would refer back to the photos for comfort and sheer determination.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘Before I started the new collection, I knew I wanted to hire a studio space to fully enable my creative side to run wild – what has emerged is quite a nice surprise… full of bright colours and sunset hues.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
‘Constantly try different mediums or art forms, even if it’s just painting for yourself, because that’s when the stories intrinsically come out in the art.’ Photo: Hande Renshaw
Dalin’s latest body of work, Provincial Sunset, which is part of her upcoming solo show at Café Parker in Rosebery, leans into abstracted landscapes and impressionistic style, paying homage to her Cambodian heritage. Driven by concepts of searching for identity and connection, Dalin sought to find contrast and harmony against Cambodia’s provincial countryside, rice fields and sky, in the paintings.
‘I often draw inspiration from my motherland – for my current body of work, I printed out photos of my time in Cambodia for inspiration and reflection – I would refer back to the photos for comfort and sheer determination.’
Although a minimal artist at heart, Provincial Sunset has conjured different emotions in Dalin’s work, emotions she feels ‘needed to come out.’ The new series explores warmer colours and textures, while still using mixed media including acrylic, oil sticks, spray paint and glass beads to create subtle texture.
‘The change in direction behind my new body of work evolved naturally… the artworks have emerged in a gestural palette and spontaneous brushstrokes, which speaks to the evolution and progression of my artistic practice.’ Warm, earthy tones and bright sunset colours can be found in the works, a collection of captivating abstract landscapes, which invite exploration and curiosity from the viewer.
Dalin will be presenting Provincial Sunset in a solo show at Café Parker in Sydney from Friday 19th May – Friday 16th June.
Dalin is also part of our Art Folk launch collection - stay tuned for release updates.