The Beast - for as long as I can remember, I have lived with a Beast. A nervousness, fear, apprehension or persistent worry. I’ve allowed it to control my thoughts, my work, my relationships, my creativity and my health. Until recently, I didn’t know that my Beast was medically classified as Anxiety. This body of work reflects on years of trying to resist the procrastination that anxiety has caused in every aspect of my life. The struggle to create, to focus at work, to hold relationships with friends and family and to even get out of bed each day. After trying medication, psychotherapy and meditation to reduce the noise or ‘traffic’ in my head, I decided to incorporate it into my art. I’ve put paint to canvas to help release and express my mental unease. My paintings are large, bold, dreamlike, busy but quiet, heavy, colourful and sometimes dark. They contain what I can only describe as ‘portraits of The Beast’.

On display from 6 August until 4 September 2016.

This exhibition is part of the Cam Robertson Gallery exhibition program that showcases the work of local artists, curators and arts organisations in the Toowoomba Region.

Image: Shani WHITE / Red Forest I 2016 / acrylic on canvas / 91 x 101cm / Reproduced by kind permission