Emma Constantine
Performance artist
Tasmania
Probably the freest I have ever felt, I hope that these works from my time in Tasmania communicate the free-spiritedness I experienced whilst I played and danced with the forces of wilderness. In the plethora of eucalyptus trees, and in the strength of large rocks, my body moves and dances in the way it desires.
Motherhood Beginnings
My new pregnant body in 2022 could not be ignored and I propelled myself into capturing its shape and beauty through photography. This body of work, made with photographer Ruth Taylor, aims to communicate the transition and emotions felt from bump to baby. The fabric symbolises the connectedness and one-ness that continues post birth between mother and daughter.
Artist-Parent Drawings
Since becoming a mother in 2022, I am now deeply interested in navigating the world of being an artist-mother. I am currently experimenting with working on top of my daughter's paintings and mark-making. Her large expressive intuitive marks contrast with my careful and considered but also intuitive patterns. I hope that honouring her childhood creativity like this and combining it with my own, speaks of our intertwined lives: the beauty and chaos of parenthood.
Shark Bay
I was fascinated by these unusual rock formations in a bay in Sydney, Australia. Totally awestruck by their colours and bodily crevices, they provided an apt backdrop in which to perform and create dramatic shapes with my own body.
The North West
Exploring the West of Australia is like exploring another world entirely. The stillness of rocks and the roaring of the sea were what mainly influenced my body's movements and positions as I responded to the textures surrounding me. Particularly in these works shown here, my body is attempting to be at one with nature, consumsed by its elements and colours.