Ellen Norrish (b.1993) is a representational painter working in Perth, WA. Her art practice is based on the careful reproduction of everyday objects and imagery in thick alla prima oil paint. She is particularly interested in personal collections or incidental accumulations of imagery, having completed series of paintings based on letters, photographs, artworks and amateur collections. These small painted reproductions are usually exhibited en masse to offer a multifaceted portrait of contemporary life and/or the contemporary subject. Norrish graduated from Curtin University with Fine Art Honours in 2016 where she was the recipient of the NAVA Ignition Award for Professional Practice and the Free Range Gallery Graduate Award. Norrish was also nominated and successfully chosen to exhibit in the Hatched: National Graduate Show at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts where she was awarded Highly Commended by the Schenberg Art Fellowship judges. Her work has since been shown in galleries across the state, most recently featuring in the state-wide survey of regional artists The Alternative Archive at the John Curtin Gallery in 2021. Since 2018 she has been represented in Perth by STALA Contemporary.
What does Hatched mean to you?’
I’ve been lucky enough to exhaust all opportunities available to an emerging artist through Hatched, not just as an exhibitor in 2017, but as an install volunteer and then Exhibitions Intern in the two years preceding. True to the exhibition, the knowledge and mentorship shared by PICA’s staff and artists during those three years continues to be an invaluable resource for my studio practice and career as an arts worker. Memorable experiences from the time include: collating nominations, learning to mail-merge. Patching, painting, unpacking and condition reporting. Driving the Gallery’s fridge-shaped car. Being invited into the homes of purchasers and re-collecting 45 paintings on loan agreements for the show. Moving my prices up a notch. Seeing my work translated into an education resource. Securing a full time job at an institution. Attracting gallery representation. Most of all, I remember the biggest effect of my work’s inclusion in Hatched as relief; industry validation to calm anxieties symptomatic of a recent Fine Arts graduate. As I was a representational painter working my way through a variety of visually pleasing personal imagery, it had never crossed my mind I would qualify for a Hatched nomination. Creating the series felt self-indulgent, with my painting stamina fueled by the novelty of choosing a new subject to paint each day, rather than attempting to forge the newest, best and brightest work. The concept is only evident in the display of the series in entirety. Next time I do this I’ll have to keep the set together.
