Clare McFarlane, Ornamental Bovine and 42 Dung Beetles, 2016. CowParade PERTH. Photographer: Christophe Canato. Image courtesy of City of Perth, PPAF and Artsource COW PARADE PERTH 2016

Clare McFarlane

Ornamental Bovine and 42 Dung Beetles


  • Commissioner: Perth Public Art Foundation for the City of Perth
  • Telethon Beneficiary/Permanent Home: Legacy

About

Much of Clare's work contemplates the natural world, our relationship to it and the way we search to express ourselves through our interpretation of it. Through the need to structure, classify, divide and structure the world around us. most of Clare's work uses patterns as the foundation over which an image is constructed. The pattern becomes a metaphor for our culture and its conventions alongside its need for order and understanding. Clare has adorned her Cow with wonderfully fluid ornamentation that is both appreciated from a distance, while at closer inspection small details such as hand written notes or small crawling insects appear, which reference our ongoing search to understand and classify the natural world.

Artist Biography

Clare has been exhibiting since graduating with an MCA in 1999 from Curtin. She is represented by Turner Galleries and has a studio at Gotham Studios. She was born in the small country town of Kojonup, but has lived on Perth since 1990. Clare has completed a Masters and an Honours Degree in Fine Art from Curtin University, where she also completed a Graduate Diploma in Cultural Heritage. She has held many solo exhibitions in Perth and Melbourne and participated in multiple group shows. She has also completed public, laneway and street art commissions for Percent for Art, Form, the City of Perth and the City of Subiaco. Her work can be found in numerous collections including the City of Perth, Cruthers Collection at UWA, Janet Holmes à Court Collection, Edith Cowan University Collection, Curtin University, Artbank, City of Wanneroo, Joondalup Hospital, Bureau of Statistics, and Alinta Gas.

View more of Clare's work in The Gallery >

IMAGE: Clare McFarlane, Ornamental Bovine and 42 Dung Beetles, 2016. CowParade PERTH. Photographer: Christophe Canato. Image courtesy of City of Perth, Perth Public Art Foundation and Artsource.