Hunter Valley Art - Andy Devine

ANDY DEVINE

Artist Statement

My practice is focused on expressing the inherent desire to reconcile my geographic displacement with a need for a sense of belonging, by drawing on formative experiences. These emotionally charged industrial landscape artworks chart a voyage, not only of physical displacement and resettlement in a foreign land but also a voyage of self discovery and the establishment of personal identity. The artworks are full of social and political content as well as being deeply personal explorations of the nature of dislocation and belonging, delivering what is a reflection of self. The romanticism that I find in industrial landscapes is often contrasted with the disturbing and moody atmosphere viewer’s experience. I find this contradictory interpretation inspiring and equally confounding. I am driven to represent myself in the landscape and through self-reflection convey memory, nostalgia, melancholy, and the enduring sense of loss.