Milk

Solo exhibition by Elizabeth Barnett
3rd to 18th February 2024
James Makin Gallery, Naarm/Melbourne

Milk is Elizabeth Barnett’s first solo show. after having her third child. The artist describes her world growing smaller for the year that she nursed – a tender turning inwards that having a winter baby permitted. Spending time awake at night with her baby in half light made for a dreamy view of the world. One that became desaturated, with the contrast between cream and charcoal browny black giving way to the milky haze of early morning light. During these small hours the artist read constantly, diving into worlds parallel or different to her own, adding another dream-like layer of ambiguity to her reality, travelling to fictional destinations whilst sat with her small one at home. This exhibition is a visual journal set out on linens, capturing moments, seasons and imagery from this dreamy period in the artist’s life to look back upon. The objects in Barnett’s still life paintings are less connected than they have been in her previous work, standing alone as symbolic components in a highly personal, emotional collage. Some objects represent people or places and they seem to converse with one another across compositions. Others are pared back to simpler forms; a glass jar becoming a fractal conglomeration of colour rather than form, speaking to the ambiguous landscape of the artist’s motherly introspection. Chromatically, this body of work takes a more dramatic turn. Deeper browns complimented by milky cream, lurid yellow, autumnal coral, pinks and oranges. There are soft blue drawn nudes in open books and the last of summer blooms are arranged delicately in jars, sitting alongside small ‘gifts’ brought by the artist’s older children to the studio, ripped unceremoniously off bushes close to the flower head. Pink, cream and florals have been deliberately dialled up, embracing conventionally feminine colours, patterning, and subject matter – above all, Milk, celebrates the feminine and the role of the creative mother.

MILK opens at James Makin Gallery on 3rd February 2024, 2-4pm 89 Islington street, Collingwood, Naarm, Victoria

For an exhibition catalogue or enquiries please email info@jamesmakingallery.com