By Liam Haley
ARTIST STATEMENT
Visual artist Liam Haley delves inward to cultivate a distinct visual language, born from a tactile and process-based approach to art. This recent body of work encapsulates an inner dialogue—a poetic conversation with oneself, articulated through shape, colour, and texture.
Driven by a fascination with the complexities of human behaviour, Haley navigates the realms of both internal and external landscapes, exploring the protective nature of the exterior and its profound impact on the interior. Rooted in personal and ritualistic themes, these internal landscapes provide a nurturing environment for self-expression, an essential facet of human development.
Haley's paintings defy conventional norms, bearing an expressive and deeply personal quality. This body of work utilises the use of recycled waxed canvas as the painting surface, a material originally intended for window awnings and umbrellas. This resilient and adaptable material serves as the foundation for this creative exploration—a choice grounded in the concept behind this project. The allure of recycled materials, coupled with the vibrant patterns found on the canvas, serves as a wellspring of inspiration, both visually and materially. This upcycled medium carries a profound significance—a sanctuary, a protected space, and a playground for therapeutic self-expression.
BIO
Liam Haley is a multi-disciplinary artist currently living and working on Wurundjeri Country, Naarm, Melbourne. Born in the Northern Rivers of NSW, on Bundjalung Country, Haley’s upbringing in a scenic environment of green and blue fertile landscapes has shaped his art practice today.
After completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Haley’s graduate body of work was awarded the 2018 Australia Print Workshop, Collie Print Trust Scholarship for Emerging Victorian Printmakers. His artistic practice is currently concentrated in painting, drawing and printmaking and he exhibits his work regularly with multiple galleries.
Haley’s art practice unfolds with constant underlying inspiration drawn from nature, all the shapes and colours an artist could need. An outlay of abstracted shape, colour and texture forms a mental landscape for the artist to translate these quotidian natural resources into textured, polychromatic abstract oil paintings.