On My Mind
A response to two weeks traveling north of Brisbane, through the Gladstone region, for a short stay in the town of Agnes Water. I spent my first few days getting to know this new landscape, venturing into the nearby woodlands and getting lost on sandy trails. I stepped into the paperbark forest, there was only the path to follow and time to spend looking and listening to the trees and birds. I traveled to nearby towns following the rail lines and stopping at every bridge crossing. From each day spent there I created quick studies mapping out my travels. After a week immersed in this new environment it felt like a fog had lifted. I have always considered my painting practice as a path through difficult times, my own grieving process. ‘On my mind’ has allowed me to release and reinvest these feelings. Although thoughts of the past and things gone still linger, they are no longer as intrusive.
Julia Sirianni, March 2022