Erin McCluskey
Home: Toronto, Ontario
Title: Aronno: lost garden
Media: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 182 x 121 cm
Website: erin-mccluskey.com
Instagram: @mcclusk
ARTIST STATEMENT
Aronno: lost garden is part of a series of large scale portraits of figures in floral and natural environments featuring people in my life. It is important to me to paint the people around me because it’s a reminder of the time we spent together–a memento from a period in my life. I photograph my subjects in places where there is an overgrowth of foliage; I am particularly interested in those spaces within the city or suburbs where nature spills out. These paintings are a metaphor for my own struggles with mental health. I wanted to represent the clash between the internal (imagined) world and external (visual, experiential, sensory) world. I collage multiple images of plants into my composition, surrounding and covering my subject to represent anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and to show how the mind can transform our environment–how it creates a layer on top of reality and colours what we see. The subject exists in a nebulous place where it is unclear if they are breaking out or merging into the background. In an exercise to fracture my own perfectionism, I have begun to incorporate elements that break with the realism of the painting. This painting was created with the support of the Toronto Arts Council.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Erin McCluskey is an artist from Ottawa, currently based in Toronto. After studying Drama at the University of Ottawa and working several years as a theatre practitioner, Erin returned to school to study art and design at OCAD University. Drawing on her background in Theatre and Illustration, Erin’s approach is multidisciplinary. Rooted in drawing and painting, her work spans across media and includes murals, illustrations, painted installations, puppets, set pieces, as well as traditional painting surfaces. Erin’s work can be found in public spaces across the GTA. She has created illustrations for both national and international publications. Erin has received the honourable mention in painting from the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.