Australian Women Artists

The Podcast

Ep. 20.    Louisa Chircop

Louisa stands as a compelling figure in contemporary Australian art.

Her work transcends geographical boundaries while exploring the intricate connections between identity, memory, and cultural heritage. She has established herself as a versatile artist working primarily in mixed media, photomontage, collage, and painting, creating works that speak to both personal and collective experiences of displacement, belonging, and the search for meaning in an increasingly fragmented world. 

She is the daughter of Maltese Australian parents, and her formative years were shaped by the complex legacy of her grandparents, who left Malta after WWII. And that influence would remain part of her art to this day. 

Throughout her career, Louisa has received numerous accolades and significant recognition including winning the James Gleeson Prize for Surrealism twice and her work has been acquired for the Kedumba Collection, one of Australia’s most highly regarded public collections of contemporary drawing. She has been a finalist in the Dobell Prize for Drawing, the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize, and the Hazelhurst National Art on Paper Prize amongst many others.

Her most ambitious and historically significant project, "Grotto Girl," is currently showing in Malta. It seems to me to represent the culmination of her artistic journey and her most profound engagement with her Maltese heritage.

 We’re having this conversation between Sydney and Malta

Images

1.        LC by Henry Zammit Cordina

2.        Whiteley paints Rembrandt then I paint Whiteley and Rembrandt, 2019,mixed media and photomontage on Arches 76x56

3.        Bath Blues after Whiteley 2019 mixed media ad photomontage on Arches 76x56

4.        Self as water feature 2020 mixed media and photomontage on watercolour paper 103x66

5.        Beneath the Paper Rain, mixed media and photomontage on hand painted archival pigment print on cotton rag, 173x130

6.        The installation on the 450 year old well in the central courtyard