Toyah Robinson

Statement

Toyah Robinson’s practice focuses on the inherent interconnectedness shared between our lived experiences and space/place. Whether it is always taking notice of a particular sticker that is stuck around the city, seeing the same graffiti artist pop up everywhere, witnessing pieces of mess and chaos that feel intimately familiar or having a moment of feeling connected to a stranger because of your shared experiences.

She captures these ephemeral elements of the every day and presents them in a meticulously curated moment that is presented in a permanent format – painting. It refines, intensifies and reifies these experiences that are already available to us in day-to-day life into a tangible solid object that coaxes the viewer to reflect on their own lived experiences that are tied to the ones presented in front of them.

The visual information in these pieces are manipulated to create a final product that is a warped oxymoron, where despite the realistic style of painting, things don’t seem quite right – objects being too large or too small, or angles and perspectives not exactly lining up. All these things mimic the overlap of memory when recalling experiences mentally.

GlogauAIR Project

My current works revolve around lived experiences and how they are intrinsically linked to space/place. The repeated imagery occurring has been a mix of personal spaces, items and images. These works have always been set in Meanjin (Brisbane, Australia) where I was born and raised. I want to bring this imagery and my personal lived experiences into a new space and combine it with new imagery from Berlin, Germany.

It will be fascinating to see how both the similar and dissimilar imagery from these different places play out visually – along with how they will present themselves in the context of painting and my core concept of interconnectedness between lived experiences and shared space/place. This project will take on the same form as previous works, involving the warping of imagery, pushing perspectives and the altering of proportions. While warping the imagery acts as a mimicry of the mental recollection of experiences, it also acts as a reminder to the audience that the paintings do not simply come from one photograph that has been referenced – but a culmination of different events, experiences and images that have influenced the final piece.

CV Summary

Education

• 2023 Bachelor of Visual Arts, Majoring in Painting, at Queensland College of Art & Design

Group Exhibitions & Art Markets

• 2024 The Great Artist Market, Brisbane.
• 2023 (October) “Future Folklore: Old Stories (made) New” QCAD Graduate Exhibition, Brisbane.
• 2023 (May) “Reimagined Realism” Grey Street Gallery, Brisbane.

Residencies & Achievements

• 2024 Artist In Residence, GlogauAIR, Berlin.
• 2023 Participated in painting murals for Griffith University, Logan.
• 2018 Independent Education Union, Highly Commended Award for Excellence in Art Design

Gallery