Kerrie Oliver - PROLOGUE

Studies on contemplation inform the thematic exploration for Kerrie Oliver’s body of work. Thinking of contemplation symbolically, like to an object rather than a state of mind. Akin to a rubber band with properties that stretch and retract a subject’s resilience but clearly have a limit, a point of breakage and over extension. States of mind that are suspended in contemplation can be flexible and responsive like a rubber band, but can also evoke feelings of tension and discomfort. The collection of paintings are meditations on the degrees of contemplative thought, they record the under recognised value and function of contemplation as an essential human practice.

We often shuffle along (consciously, or subconsciously), conforming to the constraints of life and enduring its impact. This singular and relentless path of existence inhibits imaginative thought and narrows the potential for alternative perception. It leaves us shut down to the creative corners, where obscured thinking lives. Internalised states of thoughtful deliberation, act as a retreat from the limiting familiarity of the everyday.

Affording ourselves the pleasure of time spent in contemplation, where thoughts hover unresolved, offer the mind a frame to explore ambiguity. These are the places that provoke rich and generative glimpses of lucid self-understanding, both enjoyable and confronting. 

Kerrie’s paintings visualises contemplative states of mind through shrouding, concealing, augmenting, and protecting the figurative subject. Seeking comfort in their covering, the figure displays poise, acknowledging its inherent vulnerability but pushing into the shadowed corners that demand us to pause.