As the subject of the Archibald winning portrait by her partner, Mitch Cairns, Agatha Gothe-Snape is so much more than a famous painting. She is one of Sydney’s more exciting and prolific street artists. And her latest work is making a big impact in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
Her work extends from street art to performance and slideshow presentation and has received recognition both here in Australia and overseas. She has been named one of the country’s most promising visual artists and her work is celebrated as that which is integral to conversation of Sydney as a global place of culture.
“She’s highly regarded by institutions, museums, biennials, collectors as a really extraordinary artist with a breadth of practice and one to watch.” Agatha Gothe-Snape is making waves in street art.
Her latest work in Surry Hills discusses the place of the city’s street culture and the history of the area. The piece, titled Here, an Echo consists of fourteen phrases plastered along the alley and has been awarded the Second Biennale Legacy Artwork Commission for it’s relevance to the area and integration of the natural space.
Upon the piece’s recognition, the artist commented on her work and its relevance:
“It’s a lane that is used, it’s a service laneway, there’s garages here there’s people sleeping here, a pub down there a hotel up there; and it’s a living laneway and I didn’t want to undermine that or impose anything on that…And I always want it to exist in that way. The bins, the grime, the dirt, the craziness of night time here… it’s all absorbed into the work.”
Here, an Echo is able to be seen on Wemyss Lane in Surry Hills and is a permanent part of the city landscape.
[via ABC].
