Exhibition Statement:

Anerleigh Simms is an emerging artist and recent graduate of the National Art School, Sydney. Using fabric, Anerleigh explores an expanded form of drawing through the cutting up and sewing together of materials. Both playful and intimate, Anerleigh allows the stitching to act as mark-making, exposing the process and the hand of the artist. The layering and uncovering of materials in Anerleigh’s work create a sense of memory, nostalgia, and draw attention to the haptic nature of her pieces.

Olivia Arnold is a multidisciplinary emerging artist and recent Masters graduate of the National Art School, Sydney. Her practice has primarily focused on the material use and conceptual value of fabric over the past few years. She has explored a plethora of areas within the use of fabric, from the feminine connotations of the medium, to the psychological implications of bedding and bedrooms. Arnold takes a step back from the darker areas of her practice both conceptually and aesthetically in Sharp and Soft, rediscovering the value of play, spontaneity and collaboration with fellow NAS graduate Anerleigh Simms.

Arnold and Simms’ last collaboration was accepted in the finalists of the Chippendale New World Art Prize in 2016. Both artist’s practices have developed since this time, Simms through her experience at the Aboriginal Arts Centre residency in Titjikala and Arnold by completing her studies at the National Art School. Both artists have participated in many group exhibitions in galleries such as GAFFA gallery, Factory 49, Collab Gallery and Ambush gallery over the past three years. In Sharp and Soft, they join forces and create a new body of work that celebrates their growth and the joy that can be found through playful practice.