2020 Quarantine Series
Dani presents a new series of paintings in 2020, which began hatching during the COVID-19 pandemic on her return to China from Australia during the 14 day compulsory Government Quarantine (a week before the Chinese boarder was closed). The experience of being locked inside an old hotel room was more confronting that anticipated. Photography became her medium during this time to record the surroundings. Documenting the outdated décor of the hotel room and the subdued colour palette inspired the initial paintings in this series. Extending beyond the typical colours used in her past artworks, Dani begins to reference new colours and textures captured within her preliminary photographs, resulting in the use of metallic paint. A subtle change yet symbolic of an important shift in consciousness within her art practice.
Previously, Dani's work has been shaped through her perceived inability to communicate in Chinese. She processed frustration by painting during difficult and challenging moments in her life, which drove and inspired her past Manuscript Series.
Using metallic colours such as gold, copper and brass to appear like polished metals, the visual sensation is usually associated with their shine. The attraction to the brightness and new light (when viewed from right angle) emitted from these colours is distinct within Dani's new series. Created subliminally, direct from the life-force within, these artworks were generated from the Spirit. The significance of light, air and joy, superseding any negative feelings towards the compulsory quarantine or the isolation period. This haunting experience would once have been the catalyst for Dani's art making and indeed the subject matter, yet as the world enters a new era, a new consciousness emerges and looking inside one's self seems more important than ever.
"Looking back now, I see my Manuscript Series as paintings in which I was speaking (to myself) and with these new artworks, I am listening. Listening to my Spirit, listening to my Soul, offering the Inner Being a voice to connect with the gracefulness of light and to offer that sense of flight, and climbing the sky."