Holiday with Evi O

Evi O

6 – 11 December 2022

To celebrate Evi O’s collaboration with Leif and the launch of ‘Holiday with Evi O’ – a Limited Edition collection of nine gift sets that each represent fantastical fauna native to Australia – Saint Cloche is excited to reveal an ambitious solo show, featuring 48 original artworks.

In this body of work, Evi O invites the audience to engage with the natural world as she knows it, reflecting on her 90 days doing 90 bushwalks all around Victoria, in conjunction for a book project but also coinciding with the development of this collaboration. Evi called upon the liberated feeling of being on holiday in nature and extended her observation by surveying the history and current state of native Australian animals, some endangered, some dangerous, all captivating and painted them in an imagined, whimsical paradise that is Holiday.

To further celebrate the collaboration, Evi and Leif also produced 3 Holiday gift wraps with all proceeds going to Australian Wildlife Conservancy, helping endangered Australian native fauna, which would all be available to purchase from the gallery during the exhibition.

Holiday with Evi O

In Nature, I learn new history
In Nature, I find new friends
In Nature, I live a new mystery
In Nature, I discover a new end

Working on ‘Holiday’, I wanted to achieve two things: To bring attention to the natural world and her many residents and personally reflecting on my time spent in nature.

I feel like as a modern human there is no escaping the society systems we developed for many obvious reasons, and it could feel that our environment should naturally be the urbanity. For me, growing up in Surabaya – a classically fast-paced chaotic city – I was very removed from Nature. The natural world was a fantasy I only read about in literature or saw on screen. I was 27 years old when I climbed my first tree and I often wondered how many of ‘urban me’ were out there. This year however, I did 90 bushwalks in 90 days all around Victoria, working on another Day Trip book project, and simultaneously finding inspiration and material for this body of work. My takeaways: We are not alone, we are together in this, we may be different, but there is only one natural society, and collectively it’s ours.

Whilst I didn’t see all the 48 animals I painted; I became obsessed with the lives of these animals. Some common, some dangerous, some endangered, all of them unique. I witnessed a sliver of their symbiotic society, multiple forms of Life and Death – too long to explain in an artist statement here, but not too long for anyone to quickly discover should they allow Nature to tell these stories. I invite you to enter my Holiday – destination Nature, and hope it sparks a journey of your own.

There are 48 artworks because I believe in the collective power, in anything. I also envisioned these artworks to be hung in an orderly manner to symbolise balance, whilst each having enough space to be appreciated as individuals, meant to be viewed from various angles, stating that a life form is never static. The panels are custom-made birch construction, allowing the sides to be individually painted to create multi-scenes where each personality is observed.

– Evi O

Evi O. is an award-winning multi-disciplinary designer and self-taught artist based in Sydney. With a curious eye and mind, she is constantly exploring and observing her surroundings. Her art practice is fueled by a genuine drive to explore and express humane curiousity and ultimately understand and contribute to the bigger surroundings.

Colour is the cornerstone of Evi’s practice, and her compositions are reduced and abstracted. Through simultaneous practice of art and design, her creative process weaves together an array of experiments in mediums, technology, graphic and spatial design.

In 2022, Evi has participated in: Sydney Contemporary, Whale Tail Project, Chairity by Cult, Mirage launched by Uprise Art New York and Artists At Home, published by Thames & Hudson.