Melissa Coote

Melissa Coote was born in 1966 in Sydney. She has lived and worked between Paris and Sydney since 1989.

She works the drawing in large format with a technique of pigment, gum and resin on paper. His series such as “Hands”, “Backs” or “Kryptos” question the body like a study while exploring the themes of transition and transformation. The subjects are multiple but all related to the body (human or animal): study of a hand, an animal skull, bones, the eye of a statuary, a vagina ...

The work is the result of a long process of creation which takes place in four stages: the artist first of all researches and photographs the subject. Then she applies thick layers of pigments, oxides, resins, gum to create a base on the paper. The photographic image is then projected onto this support on which the subject is drawn.

The image is then pushed to its exact representation. This step is the final touch where the artist works the surface with sandblasting and creates a veil with the spraying of resin, gum and pigment. It is at this stage that the painting progresses, revealing an enigmatic presence, an almost mutant form.

Melissa Coote physically works the subject on the paper as if it were the object itself. The result is an iconic shape that invites meditation.