blue nights
sally garrett
26 October–12 November 2023

Blue Nights, by Sally Garrett presents gentle paintings that capture the essence of a particular passage of time: hibiscus opening to full bloom and ripening, citrus fruits on a fleeting summer’s day.

The works explore a state of transformation and passing, observing the inevitable fading of flowers, of the end of promise and of the dying brightness of the day.

Sally Garrett has further developed her still life painting practice, with inspiration coming from the bright summer months, tropical flowers and a backdrop of Batik fabrics and intricately patterned china vases and bowls.

Garrett utilises a soft palette of washed out colours, with acrylic paint on natural linen, the paintings are reflective of sun bleached, warm summer light. A regular motif in the artworks, the hibiscus symbolises the fleeting beauty of summer, which once picked, the flower wilts and dies after only a day or two.

Her works explore the simple theme of the still life, experimenting with a subtle colour palette, expressive lines, flat patterned surfaces and delicate detail. Transcending the everyday and capture the essence of a particular moment in time.

Her use of acrylic paint suggests an immediacy to the work, a fast drying and dripping, watercolour like quality, while the linen canvas forms part of the composition, reminiscent of a
table cloth or piece of fabric on which the subject sits. The watery, trickling paint allows for delicate washes and fine details to emerge from the flowers and Batik fabrics, further elucidating dreamy motifs and forms. The still life paintings express a nostalgia for a time and a place that is in a state of passing and transformation.

The exhibitions title Blue Nights comes from Joan Didion’s book of
the same name, where the author describes the blue nights as the long, light evening hours that signal summer:

‘the blue nights are the opposite of the dying brightness but are also it’s warning.’

Sally Garrett has a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Illustration from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Qld. She has had several group and solo exhibitions and now lives and works on what was and always will be Wurundjeri Country of the Kulin Nation and she pays her
respects to Elders past, present and emerging.