Above Ground
While artistic genres are not always associated with specific places or countries, certain exceptions underline national identities and philosophies. Australia is one place in which the development of the aerial perspective has emerged as an emblematic viewpoint, signifying the vastness and mystery of the continent. Such views have persisted in the national imagination since Sidney Nolan first depicted the Central Desert as seen from above.
For Liliana Barbieri the aerial perspective alludes as much to her Italian cultural origins as to her personal history. Working for many years in aviation, Barbieri has developed a personal archive of photographs taken from 33,000 feet. At such an altitude, the landscape reveals both its patterns and an apparently ‘microscopic’ detail. Many of the works employ a technique known as ‘Marbling’. This ancient practice can be traced from Europe through central Asia and possibly even to China and is characterised by a wide range of effects and colours. In Barbieri’s work the outcome of this technique is reminiscent of Italian marble, echoing the swirling natural patterns of the famous Carrara stone. For Barbieri this web of entwined forms is analogous to cultural connections that reach across continents. This is also evidenced in her use of a perspectival grid, inspired by the artist’s readings of Italian Renaissance painting. At times the grid appears in three-dimensional space or is overlain on two-dimensional surfaces; it speaks of the shifting viewpoints that occur throughout changing cultural contexts.
Many of Barbieri’s works are distinguished by soft aqueous colours, suggestive of coastal waters and coral reefs seen from above. This aquatic view contrasts strongly with images of Australia’s desert interior and its myths of survival and desolation. In reality it is the coastal fringes that are more densely populated and where much of Australia’s cultural identity has evolved. In Barbieri’s work water emerges as both an elemental boundary and a point of departure; a site of emotional depth and psychological change. Developed through an instinctive response to the painterly medium, the works reflect an ongoing exploration of geography, memory and experience.
© DAMIAN SMITH 2005
Damian Smith is an art curator, writer and artist based in Melbourne
For Liliana Barbieri the aerial perspective alludes as much to her Italian cultural origins as to her personal history. Working for many years in aviation, Barbieri has developed a personal archive of photographs taken from 33,000 feet. At such an altitude, the landscape reveals both its patterns and an apparently ‘microscopic’ detail. Many of the works employ a technique known as ‘Marbling’. This ancient practice can be traced from Europe through central Asia and possibly even to China and is characterised by a wide range of effects and colours. In Barbieri’s work the outcome of this technique is reminiscent of Italian marble, echoing the swirling natural patterns of the famous Carrara stone. For Barbieri this web of entwined forms is analogous to cultural connections that reach across continents. This is also evidenced in her use of a perspectival grid, inspired by the artist’s readings of Italian Renaissance painting. At times the grid appears in three-dimensional space or is overlain on two-dimensional surfaces; it speaks of the shifting viewpoints that occur throughout changing cultural contexts.
Many of Barbieri’s works are distinguished by soft aqueous colours, suggestive of coastal waters and coral reefs seen from above. This aquatic view contrasts strongly with images of Australia’s desert interior and its myths of survival and desolation. In reality it is the coastal fringes that are more densely populated and where much of Australia’s cultural identity has evolved. In Barbieri’s work water emerges as both an elemental boundary and a point of departure; a site of emotional depth and psychological change. Developed through an instinctive response to the painterly medium, the works reflect an ongoing exploration of geography, memory and experience.
© DAMIAN SMITH 2005
Damian Smith is an art curator, writer and artist based in Melbourne