Meredith McCarthy

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A Place Within the Natural World

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In the chaos of the world around us, nature reminds us that everything has a space and a place. Sanctuary is a collection inspired by New Zealand's birds, water, flowers and changing light.

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The birds represent freedom, guardianship and belonging. At times they are in flight, at times they are resting, watching or simply being. The lotus flowers represent wisdom and transformation, rising from darkness and reaching towards the light.

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Gold is an important part of the collection. Its luminous quality changes as the light moves from day into evening. Different areas of each painting illuminate, recede and reappear, allowing the work to shift and evolve depending on the time of day and the position of the viewer.

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The atmospheric backgrounds are created in acrylic, while the detailed birds, flowers and botanical elements in most of the collection are painted in oil. This combination allows Meredith to bring together atmosphere and luminosity with the finer detail and depth of the natural subjects.

The Meaning of Sanctuary

Through Sanctuary, Meredith invites the viewer to slow down for a moment and experience nature not simply as something beautiful to observe, but as a quiet teacher.

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Within movement there can be stillness. Within darkness there can be light. Nature can remind us that we belong, that change is part of life, and that even amongst the noise and uncertainty of the world, there can still be a place within ourselves to which we can return.

A place to pause. A place to breathe.
A place where stillness lives.

 

Meredith McCarthy  |  Wellington, New Zealand