HELLA CRAIG

Visual Artist

Lives in Brisbane

Graduated from the Art Academy Dusseldorf, Germany

BACHELOR in Visual Arts and History of Arts

MASTER in Art Education

After moving to Australia, Hella Craig continued her work from her Brisbane studio. Originally her practice centered on photography, film and set design. She worked as a photographer, set designer and costume designer for multiple theatre productions, among others in Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Wuppertal in Germany.

She participated in various juried art exhibitions, group shows as well as solo shows in Germany, France, Luxemburg, Italy and Australia. She also had a successful career as a teacher and lecturer for painting, drawing, sculpting and history of art in Academic High Schools and Steiner Colleges.

Further achievements among others include the production and performance of a theatre play for the Folk and Fool Festival in Moers, Germany as well as the conception of a Cultural Centre for music, visual art, literature and performances. The centre was based in a train station building which was transformed into the so-called “Kultur Bahnhof Eller” in Dusseldorf.

“The purpose of art is to make the invisible visible.”

(PAUL KLEE, Expressionist artist)

Smiling woman wearing sunglasses, a straw hat, and a navy and white striped dress standing in front of a black and white mural of a person's face.

Me in Melbourne laneways

“I have been experimenting with different media for more than forty years. From the very beginning of my creative work I was fascinated by the relation between reality and imagination. My work focuses on how we perceive reality and how to present it without simply replicating it.

At first I worked with the media photography and film before turning to painting and mixed media projects. Using the strategy of appropriation, I often used my “old” analogue photos and images, edited them, altered the context, created collages and photomontages.

These are usually variations of a theme, executed in the form of a series and teasing the viewer to doubt what the image is depicting. The subjects I am focusing on are generally the human body or portrait, with the intention to reveal new layers of identity.

Much of my work is a collection of assembled photos, newly arranged and edited, in specially chosen techniques and on diverse materials. I want to create images that connect with the individual imagination ot the spectators.

While the medium I use in my paintings is mainly acrylic, I also turn to the medium photography when depicting nature. Life by the sea is an important source of inspiration for me, with emphasis on the four elements - Water, Air, Earth and Fire - as well as on the changing of light and colours at different times.”

SOLO and GROUP ART SHOWS

  • Stadtsparkasse Duesseldorf, Solo Show ‘Foto-Bilder’

  • Waldorf School Luxemburg, Solo Show ‘Weiss - Schwarz’

  • Kultur Bahnhof Eller Duesseldorf, Kultur ‘90

  • Kunstpalast Duesseldorf, Kunstort Duesseldorf

  • Klingenmuseum Solingen, Bergische Kunstausstellung

  • Kunstpalast Duesseldorf, Kunstspektrum Duesseldorf

  • Stadthalle Mettmann, Januar - Ausstellung

  • Opera Wuppertal, Photography and Set Design

  • Schloss Museum Laval, France, Group Show

  • Serravezza, Italy, Artisti in Piazza

  • Rudolf Steiner School, Moenchengladbach

  • Samford Valley Steiner School, Brisbane

  • Glasshouse Country Art Festival

  • Kenilworth Art Fest

A woman working on a clay sculpture of a man's bust outdoors in a European town square. Buildings with balconies and laundry hanging can be seen in the background.

“Artisti in Piazza”, Serravezza, Italy