Judith Wright

Judith Wright began her artistic career as a classical dancer in the Queensland Ballet (1966–1970) but was later drawn to the visual arts. Not surprisingly, her artworks are deeply emotive and reflective of the human form, revealing her knowledge of the theatre and performance. She is sensitive to the body, emotion, scale, and the placement of objects in space. Incorporating various mediums, her artworks appear otherworldly, exploring imagery and generating sensations related to the fragility of life, love, loss, and grief.

Wright’s inclusion in this exhibition is itself an uncanny occurrence. In late 2018, without any precursory insight or knowledge of the exhibition title, Wright began a new series of work collectively titled Second Sight (2018–2019). Her paintings resonate with ‘witch symbolism’ and potent elements of nature. The series was inspired by characters and symbols that frequently appear to her in dreams, including a head with many eyes. Wright follows these illusory creatures in cycles of thought, making them visible through drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation.

A strong, recurring image across Wright’s practice, and evident here, is the ‘Tree of Life,’ whose hanging fruit symbolise male genitalia. From the end of the thirteenth century to the early sixteenth century, artistic depictions of the phallus tree in relation to witch folklore were prevalent.¹

Wright is acutely aware of the humour and trauma connected to folklore imagery of the ‘phallus tree.’²