Loralee Jade
Tasmania-based artist Loralee Jade turned to art as a form of therapy after losing her father – today she continues to use art to collect and document her personal emotive experiences.
Words: Hande Renshaw I Photography: Sandy Powell
‘I work on multiple paintings at once, which helps to keep the works fluid,’ says Loralee Jade. Photo: Sandy Powell
Communion of breath and Lost Memories by Loralee Jade. Photo: Courtesy of HAKE
H&F: Hi Loralee, has art always played a big part in your life?
Loralee: Yes, I remember filling journal after journal with drawings and stories from a very young age. Processing the world through creativity felt very instinctual to me, it was just a normal part of my life. After my dad died when I was a young teenager it became a therapeutic process. Without it, and the incredible teachers I’ve had through the years guiding me, I’m unsure that I would've made it through some of those hard times. As clichè as that sounds, my art practice really has become a way of life. Collecting and documenting my experiences is second nature now.
Do you think where you live has influenced your work?
I’m currently based on the North-West Coast of Tasmania, in a small beachside town. I grew up here and am lucky enough to be able to live back in the house I grew up in. I've converted my old bedroom, where I used to make cubbies under my bed to hide my drawings from my siblings, into my studio. It feels really special to create work in this place. I'm really grateful to be able to live and work in the house my dad lived in, I can still feel him here with me. I think it brings a sense of safety and contentment but also a renewed sense of that loss and grief we felt as a family when we lost him.
The house is soaked in the memory of my childhood; my mum sewing by the fire, my siblings and I fighting over who was doing the washing up – all of those everyday moments that feel so insignificant at the time but become your most treasured memories. I think this definitely impacts the work. They’ve always been centered around memory and experiences but I think even more so now.
What does a ‘normal’ day in the studio look like for you?
It changes a lot, I’ve always wanted to be more structured and have a set routine in the studio but it always falls away. I’ve learned to go with the flow of my own energy otherwise it creates a tension in the work that I really don’t want. I generally start by clearing my palette and making new colors. I sit back and look at the paintings for quite a while before I jump in, to clear my mind from the day before I start making marks, especially if I’m starting a new painting. If they’re a little closer to completion it’s more obvious what I need to do, so I just get straight into it. I work on multiple paintings at once which helps to keep the works fluid.
I don’t start with a plan for the paintings – they usually start from a word I’ve written in my journal or a feeling that’s stuck with me. Then I slowly build them up over months and they change a lot in that time. I think that’s the joy for me, seeing a painting that’s not working at all and having to sometimes ruin it to then see it come together. I never tire of that process.
Where do you draw inspiration?
Relationships and my own experiences are huge inspirations. Although I don’t try to control the final outcome of a painting as they’re coming together I can tell what’s inspired them. Usually it’s something from my childhood, family dynamics or something I’m working through in myself. Sometimes it’s just a residual feeling that I can’t put into words, so I try to paint it, I suppose as a way of understanding. I have resource images all over my studio walls, like poems, old photographs, scrap papers and collages, just little things I’ve collected that find their way into the works.
Floating in the Pond by Loralee Jade. Photo: Courtesy of HAKE
‘I don’t start with a plan for the paintings – they usually start from a word I’ve written in my journal or a feeling that’s stuck with me. Then I slowly build them up over months,’ says Loralee Jade. Photo: Sandy Powell
‘I love the surprise in watching a work evolve. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, they start completely unanchored with no clear path and go through so many different phases before arriving at their final destination,’ says Loralee Jade. Photo: Sandy Powell
Floating in the Pond by Loralee Jade. Photo: Courtesy of HAKE
“I think that’s the joy for me, seeing a painting that’s not working at all and having to sometimes ruin it to then see it come together. I never tire of that process. ”
‘The house is soaked in the memory of my childhood; my mum sewing by the fire, my siblings and I fighting over who was doing the washing up – all of those everyday moments that feel so insignificant at the time but become your most treasured memories,’ says Loralee Jade. Photo: Sandy Powell
Have you always painted abstract artwork? What is it about abstract art you’re most drawn to?
I started painting portraits, I think it was midway through my first year at Victorian College of the Arts that it started to become more abstract. My work has always been pretty loose and expressive so I think it was just a natural progression. I don’t set out to make an abstract painting, but I do find it allows me to get closer to the feeling of something I’m trying to express than anything representational. I’m not trying to anchor the paintings into one specific reading, I love hearing alternative interpretations.
The most recent works are becoming more figurative, there are clusters of people standing or crouching. They feel like gatherings or huddles - perhaps family portraits I’m not sure yet. I like that there isn’t a set of words that can definitively explain an abstract painting, I feel like if there was a way to express it in words then it’s not worth painting.
What themes does your work generally portray?
I love the surprise in watching a work evolve. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, they start completely unanchored with no clear path and go through so many different phases before arriving at their final destination. It’s a slow process of gently teasing out details to arrive at a murky landscape of emotion – it’s a different journey with each one. I think the ones that cause the most struggle to solve are the most rewarding, they’re the ones that you learn something from. That’s the best feeling, having that resilience pay off.
It’s also what I love seeing in others' work, that there has been something to overcome, something that took the artist off autopilot and made them do something they wouldn’t normally do. When the artist is forced to be completely present with the work to come to a mutual conclusion. When you can visually see the struggle and the resolution in one piece, it’s so inspiring.
Your palette seems to be generally earthy, why are you so drawn to these tones?
My palette changes depending on the landscape I’m surrounded by. I lived in Melbourne and Queensland and now back home to Tasmania and in each place the palette shifts dramatically. Being back home, in the house I grew up in has given me a deep sense of grounding and being held, I’m also surrounded by green paddocks, creeks, rivers and the ocean, so I think naturally that’s reflected in my colour palette.
It also has a lot to do with my upbringing. My fondest memories as a child are always located outdoors somewhere with my family, floating on lilos down the river, climbing trees, picking wildflowers and chatting around a campfire under the stars. Earthy colours and tones feel like a true representation of the world to me.
What has been your proudest work moment to date?
That’s hard. I’m so grateful for each opportunity that comes my way. I think I’m most proud of rebuilding a network around me each time I’ve moved to support my practice. It’s really hard moving to a new place and trying to show your work, especially because I’m quite shy and introverted. So each time I’ve managed to secure shows in new places I feel very proud. The most recent achievement would be getting the residency at Salamanca Arts Centre and a solo show at Good Grief Studios in Hobart.
What’s in store for you this year?
This year I’ve been so honoured to be included in group shows in Hobart with Gallerie Seventy One, Brunswick Street Gallery in Melbourne and the beautiful new Hake House in Sydney. In the next few months I'm also showing in a group show in Brisbane with Gallery Raye alongside an incredible line up. At the moment I’m working on a large body of work for my first solo show at Good Grief Studios, which opens in May and I’m so excited to share.
