Karyn Fearnside

In 1997 Karyn Fearnside graduated from the Canberra School of Art, part of the ANU with First Class Honours and an Emerging Artist Support Scheme award resulting in her first solo exhibition. Karyn has had eight solo exhibitions and from then after it was with great pleasure she joined the Networks Artist group in 2020.

Her approach to developing a body of work was based on what was taught in the textile department. With so many techniques available Karyn chose the ones that best suited her idea.

Karyn refers to herself as a mixed media artist because of this range of processes and techniques.

Photography plays a large part in her creative practice, she uses it to inform her work and to create manipulated archival prints. Karyn also enjoys street photography.

The main theme coming through her work is mortality which may seem a little uncomfortable at first glance. She has explored the connection between her daughters and their deceased maternal grandmother (who died when she was 10) through their shared red hair. This journey which began as faces appearing in unusual surfaces (paredohlia), progressed to exploring genetic inheritance, the shape of their faces, and the faces of close relatives resulting in papier mâché masks and photographs of floating faces embedded in muslin cloth.

Karyn also creates work that tackles uncomfortable ideas such as animals used for food, environmental degradation and politics.

Finally, the intricate patterns found in nature, the skeletal shell of the tomatillo, the outside of a rockmelon and the knobbly shapes of the banksia seed pod fascinate Karyn and allow her to create for pleasure.