indra geidans

split

13 march - 9 april 2009

• press release
• review: pace of life alters vision

Indra Geidan’s previous work will be well known to many local art patrons.

She has been exhibiting consistently since 1984, and several important collections hold her work, such as the Art Gallery of WA, University of WA, Edith Cowan University, BankWest, Royal Perth Hospital, the Cruthers Collection, Murdoch University, several local councils and many private collections.

Her work has always been inspired by domestic environments with, or without, people. In this exhibition the female figure is the central character. She is on the brink and overwhelmed by the dilemmas of her life. Perhaps faced by too many decisions and society’s high expectations, she is split, indecisive, uncertain of her future. She is often faceless, either obscured by hair, turning away from the viewer or veiled. We are voyeurs, uncertain as to her mental state, wanting to reach out and steady her as she teeters on the edge or comfort her as she crawls under a chair. These are anxious paintings.

Whilst this anxiety might be a universal theme confronting the contemporary Western woman, the images are set in Australian suburban settings. A woman hangs by her knees from a Hills Hoist or straddles a suburban fence face down. The sunny blue skies of Perth provide an unforgiving backdrop.

Other works are more mysterious. The lower torso of a woman, missing one shoe, is framed in a pool of light. Is she alive? Indra gives no clue, but the ominous feet of a man can just be seen in the shadows. Two other paintings have women obscured behind a bed, with just their legs visible, torsos on the floor and legs raised up on the bed.

threshold II oil on canvas 122 x 91cm 2009 $5,250	dangle oil on canvas 121.5 x 91.5cm 2008 $5,250 sold
split oil on canvas 91.5 x 121.5cm 2008 $5,250	limbo oil on canvas 130 x 100cm 2008 $5,750
spent oil on canvas 60 x 80cm 2008 $2,600 sold	prostrate oil on canvas 80 x 60cm 2008 $2,600 sold
little red dress oil on canvas 115 x 180cm 2007 $8,500	veil oil on canvas 170 x 70cm 2008 $5,000
undercover oil on canvas 80 x 100cm 2008 $4,200	self preservation II oil on canvas 170 x 70cm 2007 $5,000
quick fix oil on canvas 75 x 62cm 2006 $2,500	self preservation oil on canvas 105 x 72cm 2007 $4,000 sold
dangle2 edition 1/6 archival inkjet print 80 x 100cm 2008 $850	thwart oil on canvas 80 x 60cm 2009 $2,600 sold to central tafe
split2 edition 1/6 archival inkjet print 80 x 100cm 2008 $850	limbo2 edition 1/6 archival inkjet print 80 x 100cm 2008 $850