Holly Aitchison

HOLLY AITCHISON

Intrigued early on by “what lies beneath”, Aitchison grew up in Southland where hunting trips fostered her obsession with osteology: “As a child I would go fishing and shooting with my father and I'd also help him butcher animals… hence my relative comfort with bones, muscles, teeth.” These days see her often capturing specimens at Otago’s Anatomy Museum, or painting in the Victorian cemetery next door to her home. An ardent and active member of the Dunedin arts community, Aitchison’s day job is teaching art to people with additional needs, where her aim is the mainstreaming of these capable artists and fostering their own unique art practices.

Aitchison’s aesthetic is one of compelling intimacy, a threshold in which we may see “the destruction of humanity by the natural world around us or gigantic gnus with badass sci-fi laser eyes going bvvvvvt, or something entirely different”. Largely self-taught, her style of communication is arresting, playful; at once macabre and mirthful. Her works exude curiosity for the natural world alongside concern for its 21st century demise.
Written by Annabel Wilson for Art Ache, full article here.

Artist's website: Holly Aitchison.

Artwork is printed on Ilford Smooth Cotton Rag 310gsm, with Archival Inks by Fine Art printer Sanji Karu at Skar Image Lab
Paper size: A4 (210 x 297mm).

This archival print has been created with authority of Holly Aitchison.
Estimated delivery time 4 weeks from purchase.
Each Artwork comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Artist Statement:
I am an autodidact who specializes in drawing with ink, graphite and charcoal and painting in oil and watercolour. My work is primarily representational and touches on themes of death, osteology, anatomy, feminism and isolation. I work during the day teaching art to adults with intellectual disabilities at an IDEA Services funded day-base, my aim being the mainstreaming of capable artists that I work with and fostering their own unique art practices.

Curators note – Phoebe Lysbeth-Mackenzie:
There’s an intimate honesty to Holly’s work that I find so captivating. Whether the subject matter is of a macabre nature or a commissioned pet portrait – there is always a haunting beauty to her work. Such an active member in the Dunedin Arts community, I know she will bring a lot of life to this event.