New Zealand based artist Sarah Dolby recently shared with us her new series of paintings, some of her most personal to date. Featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 26 and on our blog, Dolby’s whimsical narrative turns more dark here as she explores the emotionally turbulent world that lies within her Victorian-styled girls. Titled “Creatures of Habit”, the series consists of six oil on aluminum panel paintings where she introduces new subjects: The Collector of Worries, whose collection brings her both comfort and anxiety, The White Rabbit, a reinterpretation of the character from Alice in Wonderland, and a young girl who is a prisoner of her own thoughts. “These works are particularly personal to me and illustrate some of the challenges myself and those around me have faced this year,” she told Hi-Fructose in an email. “As a creature of habit myself, I am drawn to recreating familiar images that try to capture that space between strength and fragility. Through my painting, I try to make sense of this on going and ever changing state of being. I use collected objects or Wunderkammer (aka cabinets of curiosities) to extend the narrative of each painting, carefully selecting from both my imagination and my own collection of treasures.”
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