I have recently stumbled upon (no not using stumbled upon) the artwork of Hazel Dooney. To say the least, its inspiring. Hazel is from Sydney, Australia and has artwork on her website from 1995. From reading as much as I can of her blog, I understand why she claims she’s: “emerged as one of the Asia-Pacific region’s most controversial female artists.” This much is evident when her latest blog post starts off: “I am not a ‘joiner’. I am not a ‘people person’. I am solitary, prickly, and on most days absorbed in my work. I don’t like to be distracted. I don’t respond well to those who try.” Oh how this makes me squirm!
Her enamel stuff, one of which is shown above from her Dangerous Career Babes album, is not her stuff that I love the most. A brief background on enamel: highly toxic and a carcinogenic material. The works of hers that I am awed by are her watercolor stuff. Its raw, very imaginative, and very free.
Her latest series is Flesh Eaters. I have taken a few of her pictures here that are the least provocative, yet still highly contagious. I highly suggest you go to her site to find more of her work, for I personally am in awe of this stuff. It’s just amazing. It reminds me of a the old statues with no arms and heads but just busts.
Hazel has received a lot of publicity from her highly suggestive and sexually extroverted works of art over the years, being banned from showing at certain galleries, which in reality only makes her work more stronger and interesting to the public; which is a good thing.
I have read on her blog that a lot of her work is being sold to China. I’m not sure what it means, but I really do associate the top enamel work with art that one would expect to see coming out of there. Its very precise, very exact, no errors, which is also why it shocks me to see them in contrast with her watercolors, or sketches. It’s very interesting to see such contrast.
From what I have read on her blog she is an extremely powerful and strong woman. She isn’t afraid to search what her mind can bring in a realm that most people blush and shy away from: Sexuality, nudity, feminism, and soft porn. To me, having an image, having a voice, having your own niche to sit in and dig deeper into the confines of (pop) cultures stereotypes or limitations is what artists are meant to do. Being able to spread the boundaries between what is thought, what is real, and what is something you have never dreamed of before is something I admire in an artist, and I definitely gravitate towards. This is what makes me sit in awe and amazement at the end of the day, and this is what Hazel does.
Her watercolor stuff, which I have only showcased one of, is simply amazing. When I sit looking at a raw blank canvas, this is what I wish would be accomplished. The colors are brilliant, and run in an amazing blending pattern that isn’t smooth, isn’t natural, but leaves so much up to the imagination its unreal how inspiring it is.
I hope you can find inspiration, as I have, from this work, for I’d like to ask you: what thoughts come to your mind when you look at them?
