Collection: Paula Thistleton

@paula_thistleton

Paula is Wiradjuri living on Awabakal country.  Her work considers what it means to be a woman reaching the age of freedom from the demands of paid work and navigating the possibility of new purpose and directions. It’s also about renegotiating relationships with partners (lovers), friends and family whilst challenging the idea of being invisible and overcoming the fears associated with the deteriorating vitality of an aging body.

Paula draws on her everyday life, conversations with other women and the representation of aging women in popular media. She incorporates discarded plastic, sponges and wool into her abstract paintings. These materials were once useful and protective, holding things together and softening the blows of daily life. Now discarded, forgotten and invisible, destined for landfill or potentially repurposing. These materials hold memories and symbolise the potential of an aging woman’s needs and love.

Paula’s work has an ironic lens; her paintings use bold colours with loose draftsmanship, incorporating found material and objects to support the aesthetic and narrative within her work. Paula draws inspiration from sketches made from daily life, commuting, ocean swimming, and conversations and time spent with family and friends.