By Aidan White
Local artist Chelsea Avila is hoping to inspire locals to find beauty in the ordinary with her new exhibition Iridescence.
“Iridescence is a colour property that causes different colours to be seen when the angle of the viewer changes,” explains Avila. “I wanted to use this concept as inspiration, and encourage viewers to look at their surroundings from a different angle, and hopefully encourage them to find something new in what they see every day.”
Avila specialises in gouache and watercolour painting, and for the first time is publicly displaying her photography. Iridescence is also her first exhibition with the Brimbank Council and is inspired by sights found within the local area.
The exhibition begins with pieces themed around the famous ‘golden hour’, the period of time just after sunrise or just before sunset when the light is infused with red and gold tones, which is particularly striking at latitudes such as ours. Avila invites viewers to appreciate the scenery they observe while partaking in everyday activities such as evening strolls.
A student of Visual Arts at RMIT, Avila has been inspired by the French term ‘Le Flaneur,’ which means stroller. “Essentially someone who takes their time, wandering with no rush,” explains Avila. “Photography is a medium that is new to me, but straight away, the concept of Le Flaneur clicked with me. I realised I could express it in my comfort zone medium of painting, as well as the new (to me), exciting world of photography.”
Avila admits that she wasn’t confident producing photographic pieces for galleries at first. “My teacher Janelle inspired me to delve deeper into the medium. The more I practised, the more I realised I could apply what I already know as an artist, in terms of colour, lighting and composition, to this new method of creating art.”
“I wanted to capture the feeling of a leisurely wander. You start in the late afternoon, when the birds are out, then you find that the sun gets lower in the sky and it’s now the golden hour, and before you know it, it’s sunset and then dark, but you feel no rush to be anywhere, and fully enjoy your surroundings,” explains Avila.
The contrast of extraordinary scenery with the monotony of daily life is something that is dear to the young artist. “If you look carefully, you’ll see that the birds, plants and animals that come out are different throughout the day, and in different seasons. Just like the concept of iridescence, if you look at what is around you from a new perspective, it can help you notice the beauty in the variations in your surroundings and see them with new-found curiosity.”
Chelsea Avila is a second-generation Australian of Filipino background and an avid global traveller. She intends to use her cosmopolitan background as fuel in her latest exhibition. Expect to see a wide variety of artistic techniques – in two mediums – on display.
Iridescence is on show at The Bowery Theatre and St Albans Community Centre from November 15th to February 1st 2025.
