Tara Johns

TARA JOHNS’ work has been exhibited as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, she has held solo shows in galleries in both Melbourne and Sydney and has been invited as a guest artist to speak at the Art Gallery of NSW sensory friendly evenings. After...

TARA JOHNS’ work has been exhibited as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival, she has held solo shows in galleries in both Melbourne and Sydney and has been invited as a guest artist to speak at the Art Gallery of NSW sensory friendly evenings. After studying photography at Sydney Technical College and working as a photojournalist in Sydney for News ltd. Features and in Ho Chi Min City, Bangkok and Loas as a freelancer for organisations such as interplast and UNESCO, Tara went on to complete a Bachelors degree in Visual Art through Curtin University, and later a Graduate Diploma of Visual Art Education. Tara’s transition from a commercial photographer to art photographer and painter and her experience living and working in diverse regions and cultures around the world is reflected in her work, which boldly projects these influences and experiences into dreamscapes. In 2016 Tara was suddenly diagnosed with a rare disorder of the nerves in the brain that causes a debilitating and chronic pain. She underwent two rounds of brain surgery, which has helped her regain her life, but changed the way she perceived stimuli from the world around her. With a heightened perception of the sensory, drawn from this, Johns’ large format abstract works show bleeding and distorted shape, shards of colour sparking off earth tones, blurred lines, and patterns. Large and layered, paint and texture builds one on top of the other, while shifting light blends colours and shapes, at once recognisable, yet veiled. “Close up the layers and strokes in my work might appear chaotic, but from a distance they work together to reveal outlines of almost recognisable shapes and places. What was before and what is now”. The Sydney artist and photographer’s works focus on light, colour and texture, creating illusions of depth and dimension, layering, blending and distorting shape. Challenging what is known and reframing into the new. Inspired by James Turrell’s interest in human perception and the work of Fred Williams, who changed ways of seeing landscape and environment, Johns’ art captures her rare and hidden experience and heighted connection with the sensory world through paint and texture. Ultimately, it challenges us to take notice of the way we see.