The paintings, drawings, ceramic sculptures and pottery vessels in Veronica Cay’s sixth exhibition with Anthea Polson Art visually document her musings on the varied roles of women throughout history and the conundrum of societal expectations. Cay’s focus has always been from a female perspective and she relays that the latest works highlight the ‘betwixt and between’ of her own experiences of being an artist amidst days filled with other responsibilities and health issues.
There are a number of ink drawings in this current body of work that evince Cay’s personal perspective. “The possibilities in depicting such are endless,” she discloses. “I allow the line to wander unfettered by external demands, no longer feeling any imperative to record an accurate transcription of a body in space. My attention is easily distracted by the markings on paper as I fill in a multiplicity of lines and structures. It no longer matters if the drawings don’t make sense – life often makes no sense either. My art is a bridge to freedom, a bridge to dreams and otherness.”
Also occupying an indeterminate space, the figures in Cay’s paintings embrace the expressionist mode. Realistic portrayal is not her concern but rather a sensory impact and the arousal of a subliminal response. Direct brushwork and the distortion of form create pictorial tension. Colour and size relationships heighten the drama. Rendered in oil, acrylic, charcoal and pastel the large Generations of Ghost Mothers and Tooth Fairies work is a prime example. The two-panelled canvas depicts how not only hereditary factors affect the relationship between a mother and daughter but the mentoring of past generations of grandmothers and great grandmothers. “It’s an acknowledgement of how ‘ghost mothers’ subsequently play a role in who and what we are – the sum of so many others,” Cay explains. A tooth fairy flying overhead bearing this subliminal gift of understanding unites the panels and concept portrayed within.
Robust expressionism also extends to Cay’s ceramic pieces. The malleability of the raw, white clay medium facilitates endless creative possibilities. As with her paintings and drawings, there is no predetermined outcome. The subjects and their titles again relate to the betwixt and between of life’s fluctuations. “The ceramic vessels are metaphors for myself and other women who usually shoulder the bulk of the cognitive load, often until they overflow or fall apart. Somehow, they are able to remain strong and impermeable enough to carry on,” Cay imparts. “Females are constantly transitioning and undergoing metamorphosis.”
Although the works in the exhibition convey personal sentiments of life’s betwixt and between, Cay is in no way didactic, “I want there to be a little bit of mystery that invites an interactive communication with the viewer and offers the opportunity to interpret the contents through one’s own prism of experience,” she concludes.
JACQUELINE HOUGHTON
Buderim based Veronica Cay holds an Associate Degree Multi Media, Charles Sturt University 2002; a Graduate Certificate Special Education, Flinders University 2000; a Bachelor of Arts (Art and Architectural History), Deakin University 1992 and an Associate Diploma Visual Arts (Textiles), Brisbane CAE 1983. She has been a Finalist in a great number of national art prizes which include: Sunshine Coast National Art Prize, Caloundra Regional Gallery 2024, 2020; Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, Grafton Regional Gallery 2024, 2016; Clayton Utz Prize, Brisbane 2021, 2019; Lethbridge 10,000 Small Scale Art Award, Brisbane 2020, 2019, 2015, 2013, 2012; Lyn McCrae Drawing Prize, Noosa Regional Gallery 2019; Moreton Bay Art Prize 2017, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011; Moreton Bay 3D Art Prize 2014, 2012, 2011; Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize, NSW 2017; Gold Coast International Ceramic Award 2014; Ignition Ceramic Award, Sunshine Coast 2014, 2011; Kenilworth Art Prize 2013; Wilson Art Prize, Lismore 2013; Xstrata Portrait Prize, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville 2012; Wangaratta Petite Textile Exhibition 2012, 2011; ArtFelt Art Prize Ballina 2012; ‘Dare To Do Square’ Pine Rivers Regional Gallery, Brisbane 2012; Gold Coast Art Prize 2011; Waterhouse Art Prize, Museum of South Australia (Highly Commended and touring to National Archives Museum Canberra) 2011; Prometheus Art Award 2011; Toorak Village Sculpture Award 2011; Noosa Travelling Scholarship Sculpture Award 2011. Her work is represented in the Siena Institute of Art, Italy; the National Fibre Collection Tamworth NSW; private collections Australia, United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
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