Vicki George – How do you see me?
Paintings by Vicki George
At the end of the upper ramp, as you enter the Turner Centre, a series of faces confront you.
Who are these people?
Where are they from?
How old are they?
What kind of person are they?
These questions become even more challenging to answer as it becomes apparent that the faces are made up of two separate images, from two different people. Each face has their eyes obscured by the eyes of another person. The eyes are the windows to the soul, they give us visual insight into the psyche.
Vicki George has created a series of paintings, exploring how our physical appearance affects how we are viewed. The series on display entitled “How do you see me?” challenges us to confront the stereotypes and assumptions that we form about others based on appearance, due to our human conditioning.
As you view the works, you may think about how people use clothing, make-up, and hair style to change their natural appearance and how this affects conclusions we draw about them. The colour of a person’s skin, eyes, shape of their face and hair type are all visual cues that influence how we perceive others. It is not until we delve deeper, beyond a person’s superficial appearance, that we gain a true understanding of that person.
Vicki was awarded an outstanding scholarship, through NZQA, and went on to study Fine Arts at the University of Canterbury. She completed her degree in 2014, majoring in Painting. Following graduation, Vicki worked for a masonry and concrete stain company known as Nawkaw NZ. She worked as a colour technician, helping with the restoration of the University of Canterbury buildings.
Vicki works predominantly in oils, but also enjoys experimenting with acrylic, and other mixed media. Most of her work is in a realistic style, but she also likes to experiment with gestural mark making and appropriation.
Vicki is based in Kerikeri, New Zealand, but she enjoys travelling and learning about people from different backgrounds and cultures. Vicki recently returned home after working overseas in Japan, as an Assistant Language Teacher, at Hasami High School. Inspired by the nature of japan, she is currently working on a Japanese themed series of paintings, which includes the shapes of ginkgo leaves and cherry blossom.
Updates on Vicki’s artwork can be found on Instagram at vickigeorgeart and she is available for contact by e-mail at vicki.george@windowslive.com.
Opening times
Exhibitions can be viewed from Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm.
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