I AM AN ARTIST EXPLORING MATERIALITY AND THE BODY WITHIN THE FIELD OF EXPANDED CONTEMPORARY DRAWING. MY PASSION FOR HISTORY AND ANTHROPOLOGY, EXTENSIVE INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL AND A DECADE OF DANCE STUDY AND PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE FILTER INTO MY PRACTICE IN TERMS OF INSPIRATION AND BODILY MEMORIES I CAN UTILISE WHEN CREATING. MOVEMENT AS A REACTION TO AND PART OF THE ‘ACT’ OF DRAWING IS A LARGE FACTOR. I ASPIRE TO THE NOTION THAT MY EPHEMERAL, PERFORMATIVE INTERACTION WITH THE WORK IS EVIDENT IN THE FINAL PIECE. I APPROACH MY WALL-BASED WORKS ON PAPER BY UTILISING TRADITIONAL DRAWING MATERIALS IN PHYSICALLY DEMANDING WAYS. THE IMMEDIACY OF CHARCOAL, CONTE AND GRAPHITE GUIDES ME THROUGH A PROCESS OF LAYERING AND ERASING TO A POINT OF COMPLETION. WHEN I USE MY BODY AS A SUBJECT, TO SCALE, IT IS BECAUSE OF THE INTIMACY IT CAN ELICIT WITHIN THE VIEWER-ARTIST DIALOGUE. I AM DRIVEN BY PROCESS, MATERIAL AND FORMAL ELEMENTS THAT ARE VISIBLE IN THE SURFACE TEXTURE AND OVERALL COMPOSITION. THE CONCEPTS RARELY PRECEDE THE WORKS, BUT I HAVE CORE CONCERNS THAT I EXPLORE PERSISTENTLY: THE BODY, LINE AND DRAWING AS MOVEMENT, AND PERFORMATIVITY.

MIRIAM BARKER-LANZI IS AN EMERGING ARTIST AND ARTS WRITER FROM ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. AFTER OBTAINING A SACE SUBJECT MERIT FOR HER WORK IN YEAR 12 VISUAL ART, SHE WAS AWARDED A SCHOOL LEAVER SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF HER BACHELOR OF VISUAL ART AT THE ADELAIDE CENTRAL SCHOOL OF ART IN 2016. CO-PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT ASSOCIATION, SHE HAS BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR SIGNIFICANT FUNDRAISING EFFORTS FOR THE STUDENT BODY AND THE SCHOOL. APART FROM BEING VERY ACTIVE IN THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY, TAKING PART IN STUDENT-RUN EXHIBITION PROGRAMS AND VOLUNTEER POSITIONS WITH VISITING ARTISTS, MIRIAM HAS EXHIBITED AT A NUMBER OF GALLERIES IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. SOME OF WHICH INCLUDE THE ASCOT GALLERY IN KADINA, THE ROYAL SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF ARTS (RSASA), MIXED SPICE CREATIVE STUDIOS AND AT THE ADELAIDE CENTRAL GALLERY, ASSISTING ARTISTS ROBERT HANNAFORD AND MERVYN STREET, IN 2017. AN ARDENT ADMIRER OF LITERATURE, MIRIAM HAS CONTRIBUTED TO LOCAL ARTS WRITING PLATFORM FINEPRINT WITH AN ARTICLE BASED ON HER TIME IN ROME, AS WELL AS POETRY READINGS AND A NUMBER OF ZINES. NOTABLY, SHE WAS A FINALIST IN THE 2018 INAUGURAL ARKABA YOUTHSCAPE ACQUISITIVE AWARD, THROUGH THE RSASA, OF WHICH SHE IS A MEMBER. FURTHERMORE, SHE WAS PART OF A MAJOR PUBLIC SCULPTURE PROJECT WITH LE PHUN THEATRE COMPANY FROM FRANCE AS PART OF WOMADELAIDE, 2019. SHE HAS COMPLETED THE THIRD YEAR OF HER DEGREE, WHICH CONCLUDED WITH THE GRADUATE EXHIBITION AT THE ADELAIDE CENTRAL SCHOOL OF ART, IN DECEMBER 2019.