Contours of Being

Clare Dubina (b.1977 UK) is a multi disciplinary artist located in Naarm (Melbourne), holding a BFA in Printmaking from the University of The Arts, Philadelphia USA. Since graduating in 2001, Dubina has moved through various creative roles within fashion photography and visual merchandising, redirecting her path in 2020 back to painting and ceramics to pursue art as a full time career. Clare draws on the female form as an ever evolving source of inspiration in her art practice, which has led to collaborations with iconic Australian brands such as Tigmi Trading, En Gold, Viktoria & Woods, and Bed Threads.

“I take pleasure in my transformations. I look quiet and consistent, but few know how many women there are in me.” – Anäis Nin

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.