Witness
Katherine (Kate) Harris
- Sitter: Self-portrait
- Medium: Acrylic paint
- Dimensions: 40 x 40 cm
- Artist Age: 15
- Artist School: Mt St Michael's College
About the work
“Witness”, aims to bring attention to emergency service workers and the stresses endured in their everyday jobs. My artwork was inspired by events regularly occurring in my community: the ambulance service readily attending to the needs of a very sick neighbour, battling cancer.
The perspective comes from my own still actions caught as a reflection in the glass, as I sat and stared quietly and safely from behind my window. I used colour symbolically to highlight the dangers and impending urgency faced by emergency service workers, by illuminating my face with a static display of the blue and red lights frequently flashing through my street. The face distortion acknowledges the irregularities, deviations, and pressures of their jobs, including the inevitability of experiencing sadness and loss to a more profound extent than others.
My self-portrait represents the grateful people of Brisbane who are everyday witnesses to the heroes of our city.
