Simone Griffin

Simone Griffin’s practice presents an interweaving of references, from stories and memories, to Indigenous and Western science and philosophies. Of European Australian descent, Griffin’s paternal side connects to the Koa, Wangan, Jagalingou and Wakka Wakka peoples, the traditional custodians of South East Queensland. Her paintings utilise a distinctive dot technique to articulate both abstraction and figuration, applied with a mechanic impulse by way of airbrush, Griffin’s marks are both soft and bold, combining control and chance, grasping this industrial tool for its autonomous properties. With a topographical or cosmic overlay present within each work, figures and symbols emerge and carry their stories from one work to the next. Overarchingly, these paintings are an investigation of the relationship between elemental processes and the human psyche, engaging with the artistic history of her Peoples and that of the Western cannon — she blends worlds, both practically and conceptually.

Griffin lives and works in London; her work has been exhibited throughout Australia, with key works also presented in Portugal and the United States. She has been a finalist in the Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of New South Wales (2023), the Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize (2021) and completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) at the National Art School, Warrang/Sydney in 2014.