Alison Main

My work flows from the unexpectedness of life. Each day is often completely different from what’s planned. Interesting or demanding projects can sideline your attention. A chance moment can reshape life entirely. From the end of my brush emerge random images, unknown before revealing themselves.

Sometimes it takes a lifetime to realise one’s true form of expression. Temptations into byroads can be valuable, but distracting. A return to ceramics connected my random painting on pots with my 2000s painting, linking my self portrait winner of the 2007 Prospect Portrait Prize – and my 2022 temporary mural in Central Studios window.

After 30 years as a Sydney architect (work including major hospitals, Newcastle City Hall, Angus and Robertson and former NSW Club, also passenger ship interiors, I was lured to Adelaide and art school in 1986. My activities have included early digital animation, painting, critical writing and paper / junk sculpture, with sundry awards and exhibitions. My husband Newell Platten and I co-authored “The Lure of the Japanese Garden” (2002, Wakefield Press).