Christina Thwaites: Beyond Ritual
28 - 30 November 2013
This group of works by Christina Thwaites illustrates her on-going fascination with people and character
and the way in which ritual can be used to strengthen or weaken a particular cultural or individual
identity. Often using library archive photographs or newspaper cuttings as a starting point for her work,
Thwaites explores themes of nostalgia, culture and identity as a way of engaging more deeply with her
subject matter and surroundings. Her work is not intended to be overtly provocative or political, but, by
applying the serious facial expressions and often awkward, stiff postures of sitters, and by exploring the
symbolic implications of costume, pattern and ceremony within different eras and contexts, subtle
meanings can be drawn that both challenge the viewer and engage him in a silent dialogue with each
work.
Candidates I, 2013
Ink and acrylic on canvas
158.8 x 107.5 x 2.5cms
Signed and dated on the reverse
This bold work is part of a series of cardinals made when the new Pope, Pope Francis (depicted on the
far right of the painting), was being elected in Rome earlier this year. By contrasting the fidgeting, rather
awkward postures and distracted facial expressions of the cardinals with the undulating, unbroken
rhythm of their attire, Thwaites appears to poke gentle fun at the Catholic Church, while subtly
undermining its rituals of costume and ceremony with a distinctly human – and humorous - insight into
the characters that take part in them.
Choir Boys, 2013
Ink and acrylic on canvas
138.9 x 98.4 x 2.5cms
Signed and dated on the reverse
With their upright postures, pink robes and earnest facial expressions, this group of choir boys projects
an air of solemn and touching innocence. However, there are more sinister undertones at play. Forming
part of a series of paintings based around the Catholic Church, this work came about following extensive
press coverage on the abuse of children by Catholic priests. In this context, Thwaites seems to question
the use of costume and ceremony within the church and the way in which such rituals can be used to
assert, maintain - and often abuse - power.
Debutante Ball, 2013
Ink and acrylic on canvas
136.6 x 100.1 x 2.5cms
Signed and dated on the reverse
This work depicts one of the ‘Debutante Balls’ that were arranged as part of a number of attempts to
‘civilise’ the ‘stolen generation’ of Aboriginal children, who were taken from their families by the
Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions between 1909 and 1969. As part
of a programme of ‘civilisation,’ these young adults and children were made to dress in European
costume and take part in ceremonies that were alien to their own culture and habits.
Play According to the New Regime, 2013
Ink and acrylic on canvas
137.2 x 100.4 x 2.5cms
Signed and dated on the reverse
Taken from a library archive photograph, this work illustrates a tea party that was organised for a group
of Aboriginal children, ‘stolen’ from indigenous communities as part of a perceived need by the
Australian authorities to ‘protect’ abused, neglected or abandoned mixed-race children between the
period 1909 and 1969. What might at first appear as an innocent scene is, in fact, part of a number of
attempts by the authorities to make Aboriginal children and young adults reject their own culture and
traditions and take on a more European way of life.
Dressed for Sunday School, 2013
Ink and acrylic on canvas
80.5 x 66.3 x 2.5 cms
Signed and dated on the reverse
Inspired by a photograph from Canberra library archives, this work depicts a group of ‘stolen’ Aboriginal
girls who have been placed in a Lutheran Home and dressed in typically ‘western’ attire as they become
schooled in traditional Christian customs. Using cut-out plastic, shaped into a template of the Lutheran
Cross, Thwaites uses a basic printing technique to create a striking pattern on the girls’ dresses while
rooting this painting in its very real historical context.
Jalan Jalan, 2011
Ink and acrylic on canvas
90 x 140 x 2.5cms
Signed and dated on the reverse
Made while Thwaites was living in a remote
village of South East Sulawesi, this striking work
was made in a difficult working environment and
thus has a more rustic feel than some of her
other work, and yet the creases and marks
visible, and limited colour palette used here, are
an integral part of this painting. Since this
community was very strictly Muslim, Thwaites
followed local custom by spending most of her
time with the children and women of the village.
The girl depicted here walked past her house
every morning emitting a powerful, curious stare
and lends the painting its name, ‘Jalan Jalan,’
which means ‘to walk, to walk’ in Bugis, the
Indonesian language of the community.
About Christina Thwaites
Christina Thwaites is an emerging contemporary British painter, currently living and working in
Canberra, Australia. Born in England (1980), she graduated in 2004 from the University of Edinburgh
with an MA in French Literature & History of Art, before moving to Paris, where she attended the École
du Louvre and worked as an assistant to watercolourist Patric Fouilhoux. Her painting skills developed in
Italy, where she lived for a number of years and was tutored by artist Alberto Parres at La Porta Blu
Studio in Rome. In 2010, she worked in Amsterdam and also at Walasiho (a remote village in South East
Sulawesi, Indonesia).
In 2011, Christina was invited to Palestine to exhibit with Al-Mahatta Gallery at Al Fara refugee camp
during an international artists' workshop. Recent works have been shown at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in
Rome and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome (MACRO). She now works from her studio at
Australian National Capital Artists (ANCA) and, whilst continuing to exhibit regularly in Italy, will hold her
first solo show at the Michael Reid Gallery, Murrurundi, in March next year.
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Christina Thwaites - CV
Solo exhibitions
2013 ‘Looking back’, RvB Arts, Rome, Italy.
2012 ‘Memory Thread’ Galleria Cellamare 56, Naples, Italy.
2012 ‘Dispatches from the past: Postmen in East Hull’, La Porta Blu Gallery, Rome, Italy.
2011 ‘Forgotten Faces’, Galleria Cortese & Lisanti, Rome, Italy.
2010 ‘Tracing time’, Dokhuis Galerie, Amsterdam, Holland.
2010 ‘Velvet Faces’, Studio 7, Rieti, Italy.
2010 ‘Sitting on the dock’, Caffe Pascucci di Nola, Naples, Italy.
2010 ‘Sitting on the dock’ Gran Caffe Raia, Naples, Italy.
2010 ‘Sitting on the dock’, Banca Arditi Galati, Cava de’ Tirreni, Salerno, Italy.
2008 ‘Two Weeks’, Galleria Ashanti, Rome. Italy.
Collective exhibitions
2013 ‘Romance’, Temple University Gallery, Rome, Italy.
2013 ‘Face 2 Face’, Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney, Australia.
2013 ‘Summer’, RvB arts, Rome, Italy.
2013 ‘Queen Show’, Peter Klashorst Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
2012 ‘Oasis International’, La Pelanda, MACRO (Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art), Rome, Italy.
2012 ‘Quadratonomade’, 100% Periferia, Palazzo delle Esposizioni (National Exhibition Palace), Rome,
Italy.
2012 ‘AAF Rome’, MACRO (Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art), Italy.
2012 ‘Between’, Teatro Sala Umberto, (Umberto Theatre) 100%Periferia, Rome, Italy.
2012 ‘New York’, Peter Klashorst Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland.
2012 ‘Main Off’, Nuovo Cinema Palazzo, 100% Periferia, Rome, Italy.
2012 ‘Trame di Carta’, Studio 7, Rieti, Italy
2012 RvB Arts, Rome, Italy.
2012 ‘cARTEdARTE’, Liberia Moderna, Rieti, Italy.
2012 ‘The Kut & Lul Pop-Up Show’, Peter Klashorst Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland.
2012 ‘Schisi’, Hybrida ArtGallery, Rome, Italy.
2012 ‘Embassy of Living Painters’, Appels Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland.
2012 ‘Young Masters@Auction’, Ongekend Art Auction, Rotterdam, Holland.
2012 ‘AAF Milan’, RvB Arts, Milan, Italy.
2011 ‘Accessible Art’, RvB Arts, Rome, Italy.
2011 ‘In the name of….love?’ Studio7, Rieti, Italy.
2011 ‘Al-Mahatta Artists’, Salah Khalafs Centre, Al-Far’a, Palestine.
2011 ‘Dusty Days, it looks like the summer is over’, Galerie Serieuze Zaken, Amsterdam, Holland.
2011 ‘L’acqua nella Roccia’, Villa Gregoriana, Tivoli, Italy.
2010 ‘Femmes’, Country House I Cerri, Caserta, Italy.
2010 ‘I love’ Convento di Santa Croce, Sant’Anatolia di Narco, Perugia, Italy.
2009 ‘Isolina e le altre’, Ravenna, Italy.
2009 ‘LiberinArte’, Castello Ducale di Fiano Romano, Italy.
2009 ‘Niente Paura’, Cecina Mare, Italy.
2009 La Porta Blu Gallery, Rome, Italy.
2008 ‘Festival Arti III’, Galleria Ashanti, Rome, Italy.
2008 La Porta Blu Gallery, Rome, Italy.
Awards/residencies
2012 Open Studios, residency and public presentation/talk, 33officinacreativa, Toffia, Italy.
2011 ‘Al- Mahatta’ International Artists Workshop, Al Fara’ah Refugee camp, Palestine.
2010 Kanaal 10 Guest Studio – painting residency, Amsterdam, Holland.
2010 ‘Sabina open studios’, Sabina, Italy.
2009 ‘L’arte di non discriminare’, ARCI International workshop, Cecina Mare, Italy.
2009 LiberinArte figurative painting section – first prize, Lazio, Italy.