Lisa Carrett
Sydney-based artist Lisa Carrett paints and sculpts the sentimental beauty of the Australian landscape, creating canvases filled with familiarity, nostalgia and memory.
Words: Georgie Ward | Photography: Sarah Finnegan
‘ From a young age I was engraving drawings into the side of my dad’s beloved car, and later went on to be an Archie finalist with a portrait of him - so I guess it was worth it!’ says Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan
‘I’m interested in the banksia as a symbol for the resilience and regeneration of the Australian landscape’ says Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan
Lisa Carrett’s work explores her interest in the relationship between memory and time and how our perceptions of home can be explored across painting and ceramic sculpture.
Moving to and from different towns in NSW during her upbringing meant Lisa experienced living in various landscapes, shifting from long dirt roads and rugged bushland to the suburbs of Sydney.
Her childhood was full of travel, spending holidays and weekends driving throughout the Australian countryside, watching the different landscapes come and go from the car window.
These experiences have heavily informed her artistic practice, ‘I definitely think my work has been influenced by the various landscapes that I’ve visited and lived in. Growing up I was always thinking about these notions of home and how the landscape around us impacts our own sense of place’ says Lisa.
Inviting her Australian audience to connect with her works, Lisa paints recognisable Australian iconography, such as the cattle dog and banksia plants. ‘I include a couple of identifying features in my works, such as a hills hoist, which acts to contextualise the work but remains ambiguous enough that the audience are able to project their own memories of home onto each artwork.’
‘ I always felt like I could be vulnerable through my work and allow people to connect through my art with their own memories’ says Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan
“I love being an artist. It’s the reason I get up every morning. It is a fundamental part of my identity, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything”
Ode to Klein, glaze on stoneware by Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan
‘Growing up I was always encouraged to draw, I would fill up the margins of my school books with doodles and ink drawings’ says Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan
Lisa’s love for landscapes has only recently extended beyond painting to exploring ceramic sculpture.
She describes how painting feels familiar and comforting, however when creating ceramics, it involves fragility, experimentation and the giving up of control which she finds enjoyable in its challenge.
Her work utilises a soft, pastel palette struck by splashes of intense colour. In her paintings, Lisa seeks to ‘disrupt’ the landscape or make something otherwise familiar seem foreign to the viewer.
Her paintings often include large blocks of colour which intersect with the use of electric blue and other moments of seemingly jarring colour, which she uses to disturb and add strange abstraction to the landscape.
‘Playing with ideas of making the familiar environment into something foreign, I attempt to call into question the psyche of the land and its histories. I hope that audiences continue to engage with the work in a way that leaves them with a simultaneous feeling of comfort and nostalgia, whilst identifying those underlying uncanny qualities.’
Silvermoon by Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan
‘I always have multiple paintings because it creates dialogue between each piece’ says Lisa Carrett. Photo: Sarah Finnegan