Simon Porm
   



Blue Ash
 Pastel on paper, 17 x 36 cm



Heat & Ash I
 Pastel on paper, 20 x 84 cm



Heat & Ash V
 Pastel on paper, 20 x 84 cm



Heat & Ash VI
 Pastel on paper, 27 x 63 cm



Heat & Ash VIII
 Pastel on paper, 20 x 84 cm



Timbered Void
 Pastel on paper, 17 x 37 cm



Relic III
 Pastel on paper, 75 x 110 cm

       

Heat & Ash

My art stems from a deep affection for the mystique of the Australian landscape, in particular the Eucalypts. They have a majestic strength - a presence, sometimes uncompromising. It is there on the trunk one sees the life of the tree - its cuts, wrinkles and gouges, the sap and the shedding of the bark. The surface is as rich as the landscape it stands in. Revealed are the characteristics of resilience and endurance - its history. A certain wisdom pervades as the tree stands there, anchored, withstanding the brutal constants of weather.

Its own survival though, like most Australian flora owes much to the process of tat which equates to destruction - fire. In the charred remnants of a bushfire, the trees remain standing, keeping a stoic pose as the heat and the ash terrain slowly becomes the domain of a miraculous rebirth.


BIOGRAPHY

Born 1973, Sydney
1994 BA (Visual Arts) Sydney College of the Arts

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 1996 Sixteen Fine Figurative Drawers; Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney.
  • 1996 Julian Ashton Art School Exhibition; Couchhouse Gallery, Sydney.
  • 1997 Sixteen Fine Figurative Drawers;Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney.
  • 1997 Julian Ashton Art School Exhibition; Couchhouse Gallery, Sydney.
  • 1998 Exhibition of Prints from Warringah Print Studio; Studio One, Canberra.
  • 1998 Prints from Warringah Print Studio along with printmakers from Akersburga,Sweden;
  • 1998 Balmain Watchhouse, Sydney.
  • 1998 Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth Art Prize; Atrium Gallery, Sydney.
  • 1998 Warringah Print Studio Annual Exhibition ;Balmain Watchhouse, Sydney.
  • 2000 1st Anniversary Exhibition; La Paloma Pottery, Hill End.
  • 2000 Olympic Arts Festival; Sydney Seen I, Michael Nagy Fine Art
  • 2000 Olympic Arts Festival; Sydney Seen II, Michael Nagy Fine Art
  • 2000 The Brett Whiteley Travelling Scholarship; Finalist's Exhibition,
  • 2000 Brett Whiteley Studio, Sydney.


Solo Exhibitions

  • 1997 Recent Drawings and Etchings of Estonia; The Estonian House, Sydney.
  • 1998 Manly Arts Festival: Exhibition of new paintings, drawings and prints; Twocan Restaurant, Manly.
  • 1999 Conditions of Light; Global Galleries, Sydney.
  • 2000 Shadows' Shadows, recent works; private residence, Sydney.
  • 2001 Michael Nagy, Sydney.
  • 2003 Michael Nagy, Sydney.

Prizes and Awards

  • 1995 Mosman Youth Art Prize
  • 2000 2nd Prize, Blue Mountains Rotary Art Prize
  • 2nd Prize, Painting, Blue Mountains Arts Council Art Prize


Residencies

  • 2000 Bathurst Regional Art Gallery; artist in residence, Hill End.