About
Catherine Stringer
Catherine Stringer is a Tasmanian artist based in Hobart who has a lifelong love of water and the sea. She is particularly attracted to islands, being surrounded as they are by water, and she is a keen swimmer and scuba diver.
Catherine is drawn to the visual and sensual nature of water, and the feeling of weightlessness when underwater. She is also fascinated by the symbolism of water, its ability to conjure narrative and metaphor, and its connection to the mysterious vast unknown.
Catherine trained in painting and photography at the Tasmanian School of Art. Her work has been exhibited widely since 2003 in 16 solo exhibitions as well as numerous group exhibitions, both locally and further afield.
Catherine’s underwaterscapes look beneath the surface of a range of Tasmanian waters, from deep sea caves and kelp forests to mountain creeks and tarns, and have been selected three times as finalists in the Glover Prize.
Other underwater paintings contain figures; these images often become ambiguous and evocative, akin to dreamscapes or poetry.
Papermaking techniques were explored during a King Island residency in 2011, using local seaweeds and shore plants. After extensive research, developing and refining her process, Catherine was able to create unique seaweed paper artworks inspired by sea related narratives. The ‘Neva Reliquary’ series focused on one of the King Island shipwrecks, that of the ‘Neva’, whilst ‘Seal Woman’ was inspired by an Icelandic folk tale.
Further development of techniques enabled the creation 3 dimensional sculptural artworks, translucent ‘stained glass window’ inspired artworks, and even a wearable paper garment!
‘Looking beneath the surface’ and underlying themes of separation, loss and transformation continue to inform Catherine’s art practice, which now includes both painting and papermaking.
Catherine has maintained her links with King Island, and her work may be viewed at the King Island Cultural Centre.
+ Solo Exhibitions
+ Selected Group Exhibitions
+ Residencies
+ Public Art Commissions
