Artists statement

I conceive my work as unfinished fragments of memory and childhood rituals, and through the art making process, I build and then peel back the layers of these memories and early influences, to reveal my personal dreamscape.

Through the fusion of colour, texture, mark making and rubbing back, my intuitive rendering of the media creates layers that like memories, can be stacked up, hidden, peeled away, rubbed out, etched back in, and the process of layering and building up of a tactile textured surface, reflects memory itself; with its elusiveness and hard to grasp impressions that are more like ingrained watermarks.
As I work, layering the surface then taking it back; rebuilding, adding marks and burnishing back, I feel into the textures, and through this tactile rendering I often discover something unintended and the end result is not quite how I perceived it in the planning. Perhaps something of a happy accident, which again reflects the arbitrariness of memory.

I see my artworks less as paintings, but assemblages, with the layering technique creating a sculptural effect that reflects my great interest in the landscape and its beautiful and varied colours, shapes and textures. Part of my process is to take long drives into the country where I grew up, photographing along the way, to create a visual documentary that then informs my practice. The wide paddocks of the Victorian wheatbelt, beneath the endless blue of the horizon evokes very early memories so that a singular Bullock, a fencepost, a hay roll or corrugated iron wall, is so uniquely resonant to me, I am compelled to create this in my work.

My connection to the land, to farming practices; the poplars, oaks and elm trees of my childhood holidays, is a mindscape that I return to again and again as I try to recreate that early sense of wonder, love and familiarity, grief and joy, that forms my unique vision.

Historical information

Veronica DRUM (1967 - )
Born Donald, Victoria

A student at Federation University Arts Academy from 2015 until 2019, Veronica Drum is committed to establishing regular studio practice.

Veronica Drum made this work in the final studio semester of the Bachelor of Visual Arts at the Federation University Arts .Academy.

Physical description

Framed Mixed media artwork depicting the Ovens Rivers, Victoria.

Artists' Statement:
Through the fusion of colours, textures, mark-making and a 'rubbing back' process, my intuitive rendering of the chosen media creates layers in my artwork that reflect and build upon cherished childhood memories.

This work won the 2019 Federation University DVC 2D Art Acquisition Award.