A&D ANNUAL 2021

Holly Siles

Holly Siles’ work sits in the field of self-regarding art, using figurative forms to interrogate influences on the formation and projection of a feminine viewpoint. This body of work shares an intimate experience and sense of place at Fowlers Gap while embracing divergent and personally familiar worlds of fashion and art. Siles has retained fashion and textile motifs from past works, refocusing her identity outwardly, through her relationship with the Australian landscape and people, rather than inwardly to a physical self. She recognises as a white woman and a descendant of British immigrants, that her perception of her place in this country is viewed differently from First Nations people. This quote from Tom Dystra, explains this point of difference succinctly: “We cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavoured to live with the land; they seemed to live off it”.