Christine Druitt Preston

Sunshine Coast Art Prize 2023 - Finalist

_{[Image courtesy of the artist and Artsite Contemporary]}

Christine Druitt Preston | Bouquet for Hazel Hand | 2022 | rubbed lino block print on wenzhou paper | 120 x 107cm

Artist Statement

‘Bouquet for Hazel’ re-imagines an arrangement of cut flowers from the gardens of Hazelhurst cottage built in 1945 on the site where Hazelhurst Art Centre, Gymea now stands.  Planted in the following years by the Hazel and Ben Broadhurst were flowerbeds of roses, dahlias, gladiolas, sweet peas, snapdragons, marigolds, pansies, and more roses. The curved drive was lined with hydrangeas, azaleas, and hibiscus. Flowering peach and plum trees gave colour. Daffodils, jonquils, bluebells, gladiolas, and belladonna lilies mixed with agapanthus followed the path of the creek.

In recalling a theme and composition made familiar by the Australian artist Margaret Preston, with this bouquet I hope to prompt a conversation between her practice and my own, while paying homage to the lineage of women artists on whose shoulders I stand.