Jody Graham

Somewhere to land

26 May — 5 June 2021

Lives and works in Sydney

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Jody Graham’s commitment to the environment is absolute. Dissatisfied with imagining the landscape, the artist abandons traditional drawing and painting techniques in search of new methodologies. The resulting work, in effect, becomes part of the land that she walks. Along with charcoal—that most primitive of media—Graham sources natural pigments and uses found objects as drawing implements. 

For Graham, mark making is paramount. Her meditative process involves circumnavigating her surrounds, collecting found objects to imprint her marks. The implements—the morphing of strange objects together—have become artefacts, almost Neolithic, and are evidential in the artist’s process. By challenging preconceived ideas about how drawing marks should be made, Graham allows for a more immersive and organic creative experience. The culmination of this unique practice is a raw yet articulate imagery that speaks of her world. 

The devastation of the fire storm that enveloped much of NSW in 2019/20 has provided the genesis for this body of work. From the landscape to the flora and fauna that inhabit it, Graham investigates every nuance, weaving her narrative and deep love of the land into the picture plane. There is optimism in the work from this period. Out of the ashes we find beauty and life—a regeneration of the land and our psyche.

 Graham has enjoyed success as the winner of the Greenway Art Prize in 2017 and 2020 and has been a finalist in numerous major painting and drawing prizes including the Kedumba Drawing Award, Blake Prize, the Plein Air Painting Prize at the Parliament of NSW and the Dobell Drawing Prize. Graham’s works are held in many public collections nationally as well as private collections nationally, in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and New Zealand.

Ralph Hobbs & Nicole Hauser
May 2021

\ Exhibition featured works

Jody Graham

Bearing Witness

2021 \ Charcoal from Black Summer Australian Bushfires, tree sap, compressed charcoal and ink on paper \ Paper size: 86 x 114cm \ Framed size: 95.5 x 124cm

SOLD

Jody Graham

Eye Witness

2021 \ Charcoal from Black Summer Australian Bushfires, tree sap, compressed charcoal and ink on paper \ Paper size: 86cm x 114cm \ Framed size: 95.5 x 124cm

SOLD

Jody Graham

Getting Pinked Poisonous New World Mutant I

2021 \ Cicada shells, aerosol paint, burnt driftwood, perspex box \ 17.5 x 18 x 84cm

SOLD

Jody Graham

Getting Pinked Poisonous New World Mutant II

2021 \ Cicada shells, aerosol paint, burnt driftwood, perspex box \ 17.5 x 18 x 84cm

Jody Graham

Getting Pinked – Crimson Rosella

2021 \ Charcoal from 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires fires, basalt soil, tree sap, ink, acrylic paint and hand stitching on paper \ Paper size: 113cm x 99cm Framed size: 124.5 x 110cm

SOLD

Jody Graham

Getting Pinked – Kookaburra

2021 \ Charcoal from 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires fires, basalt soil, tree sap, ink, acrylic paint and hand stitching on paper

SOLD

Jody Graham

Getting Pinked – MAGPIE

2021 \ Charcoal from 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires fires, basalt soil, tree sap, ink, acrylic paint and hand stitching on paper \ Paper size:113cm x 128cm \ Paper size: 124.5 x 110cm

SOLD

Jody Graham

Grass fire I

2021 \ Charcoal from 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires fires and natural clay earth ochre \ Paper size: 120cm x 114cm \ Framed size: 131 x 124cm

Jody Graham

\ Installation Photo

Jody Graham

\ Installation Photo

Jody Graham

\ Installation Photo

Jody Graham

grass fire II

2021 \ Charcoal from 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires fires and natural clay earth ochre \ Paper size: 120cm x 114cm \ Framed size: 131 x 124cm

SOLD

Jody Graham

one step closer

2021 \ Charcoal from Black Summer Australian Bushfires, tree sap, compressed charcoal and ink on paper \ Paper size: 114cm x 86cm \ Framed size: 124 x 95.5cm

SOLD

\ Other exhibitions

James Drinkwater

ÉCOLE DES ARTS - Just outside Toulouse

18 November — 14 December 2024

David Fairbairn

THE SPACE BETWEEN THE LINES

24 October — 16 November 2024

Adam Nudelman

UNDER THE CANOPY OF A LOST PARADISE

23 October — 16 November 2024

Contact Us

to find out more about Somewhere to land.

12 - 14 Meagher Street Chippendale, NSW 2008
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm Saturday, 11am - 4pm Closed Public Holidays (and Easter Saturday)