Claire Bridge has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious Black Swan Prize for Portraiture for 2017. In 2015 Claire was a Silver Medallist in the Black Swan Prize with her Highly commended work "Sanctuary". This work "We breathe as one", a portrait of friend and artist Tamara Dean, has been selected as a finalist from over 340 entries.
image - detail
We breathe as One (Tamara Dean)
Oil on linen
40x40cms
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"In an increasingly connected world, interdependence, a philosophy recognising that we all exist in relationship with everything and everyone else, has relevance as a way of understanding ourselves in our world.
“We Breathe as One” refers to the simple but beautiful relationship of co-existing, interdependently with nature. As we breathe out, a tree breathes in. As a tree exhales, we inhale. Painting Dean, I was struck by her generosity of spirit, her humility and a focussed and fierce determination. Her life and her work are integrated, seamlessly.
Extending across photography, installation and participatory works exploring the relationship between humans and the natural world and the role ritual plays in our lives, Dean’s practice relies on her subjects experiencing and engaging with their environment and emotions well as her own inclusion in the ritual. My painting reflects this essential connection."
View the finalists