Kristen Solury - 'After the Pain, Before the Hurt'

Wednesday 2 - Sunday 27 October 2019

"Some people are born outsiders, destined to live life on the fringes, excluded and ostracised for no discernible reasons. They’re just all wrong and no one can tell them why. But after a lifetime of exclusion, someone like this may suddenly find themselves accepted into a group. For the first time, there’s a feeling of belonging, importance and validation. But eventually the natural order restores itself and the outsider will likely find themselves back on the fringe, having everything yanked away. Sometimes viciously.

After the Pain, Before the Hurt is a series of paintings inspired by just such an incident - an outsider who had a brief encounter with inclusion, which ended with betrayal and ousting. For the outsider, this period of life gained a great deal of insight and knowledge, which will last far longer than the fleeting relationships in which they were forged. Looking back to a dark period, the memories are of vivid colours and energy. They are shaped by the aesthetic that was intently studied amongst the like-minded. These memories are on display in this series, representing the steps of a simultaneously joyous and tumultuous time."
Kristen Solury, September 2019