Julie Andrews
The Artwork
Julie Andrews
- Artist
Women In-between, 2024
Oil on canvas
Artist Statement
Women In-between is a subtle semi-abstracted painting of female figures in the natural landscape. The surface of the painting is smooth and enticing, covered with layers of thin glazes of paint, yet it is not attempting to hide what lies beneath. There are divots, scrapes and spots of paint that have happened on the canvas on the way to making this artwork and it wants to show it all. The unfolding process of making is visible and even the little and insignificant marks contribute to telling the untold story. ‘Women In-between’ is inspired by my life experience, drawn from an amalgam of feelings and warm memories of relationships and gatherings with wonderful women over the years. Women still fill the voids, the invisible spaces, the in-between often unnoticed and unheard. In-between the struggles and triumphs, women share different stories with common threads. Together these silhouetted figures lean toward us, arm in arm holding a space of connection and celebration.
Bio
I was born in 1962 the eldest of seven children, one of five girls and two younger boys. I was always interested in the visual, how things looked and spent my early years creating a world of my own.
My first full time serious job was in nursing, which suited me and my husband when our children were young, as the evening and night shifts saved us from child-care as we juggled child rearing and house renovating. When our children were school age, I joined the public service which was a step back in time, where only twenty years earlier there had been a ban on married women working. I became a Training & Education Officer and worked in the field for over a decade before starting my own consultancy business. In these early years, to be taken seriously, I had to raise my children in the shadows, quietly juggling the demands of long hours, study and travel as if I was unencumbered by life’s caring roles. Later when my children had grown, I tired of the business world and went back to university to undertake a master’s degree in Analytical Psychology, which led to a complete career change and a degree in Visual Arts followed by a Master of Arts. Now as a full-time artist I prefer to work in my studio in a more flexible way made possible by the wonderful galleries who represent me and who actively support older women in the arts.
“Growing up in the 1960s there was so much hope for change and gender equality, yet here we are in 2024 with still lots to do.”
- Julie Andrews
Women of Gold is a multimedia project celebrating the stories and contributions of women in the City of Greater Bendigo. Increasing the representation of women across different sectors and inspiring industry to innovate and meet the needs of our community as a whole.
