Alison Mackay’s distinctive paintings on unfolded domestic packaging explore the eclectic interiors of ‘The Artists’ Houses’ in Far North Queensland, Kulki Beach house at Cape Tribulation and the surrounding Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest.
The irregular shape of these tiny panoramas highlights the dimensionality of each space, whether it’s inside or outside. Up close, the detailed observations celebrate everything from interior décor to the patterns on tropical fish.
The unfolded packaging – repurposed tea and drug packets, food and takeaway containers and collaged book pages – shows the surrounding circumstances, both mental and physical, for the artist. Books being read, food consumed and even Covid test packets from the height of the pandemic when some of the works were made.
The media used are deliberately simple – just Sharpie pens and gouache – with the initial drawings made in situ. The direct and indelible mark-making using the Sharpie pen is part of the commitment to the process. Marks, once made, are not able to be erased. The colour, in the form of gouache paint, is added later in the studio.
These works reference concepts of recycling and consumer culture, but are also an exploration and celebration of the places, both inside and outside, that are important to the artist.