Contours of Being

In Contours of Being, expressive and voluptuously abstracted forms are rendered in a rich palette of earth tones and deep greens with chalky pastel highlights that sweep across the canvas and sketch out elegant, sporty and sinuous silhouettes. While discussing her new body of work, which follows her successful solo debut with the gallery in early 2024, Dubina notes a line from Anaïs Nin: “I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me.”

In this spirit, Dubina takes a more introspective approach to the female form with Contours of Being. “In earlier works, I focused on process and on marking specific periods of life. Now, I’m less concerned with narrative and more interested in what the form itself can express,” says the artist, moving freely between areas of striking, graphic flatness and more nuanced shading that brings a sense of warm tactility.

“This series is a study of the female form as a way of expressing emotion, rather than individual portraits of a body. Each curve and line is used to communicate a different state of being that can hold more than one voice. Moving between presence and absence, power and fragility, silence and declaration, viewers are invited to bring their own perceptions and experiences, shaping how each piece is understood.”

Like Anaïs Nin’s reminder that there are “many women” within one, my figures become layered selves, shifting and transforming, showing the fluidity of identity while maintaining a sense of unity through a shared colour palette.”

For all enquiries, please email sophienolan@michaelreid.com.au