Like Seeing Clearly in A Snowstorm
Anthony Moy
- Sitter: Tess Ebinger
- Medium: Soot, charcoal, pencil, and wax on board
- Dimensions: 103cm x 73cm
- Representation: This artist represents themselves
About the artwork
Behind a velvet curtain in Brisbane Arcade, Tess Ebinger runs Carrion Hats, one of only a handful of studios in Australia specialising in the rare art of hat restoration. After years working for others in her trade, she now runs her own independent hat studio.
Artist Anthony Moy, a close friend, had originally planned a bold, Tank Girl-esque portrait to match her character, but decided to change direction, guided by Ebinger to focus instead on an authentic depiction and a more private moment.
Moy says “after a long day, she still finds peace in the repetitive movements that still need focus. Tired but dedicated, she’s now taking her thread of fate into her teeth, instead of someone else. This calm radiates out from her, and you can feel it fill the room as her hands dance with needle and thread.” Her familiar surroundings dissolve into a haze of soot. “It’s like being able to see clearly in a snowstorm,” says Ebinger.
About the artist
Anthony Moy is an emerging artist who explores the bittersweet, the absurd and the beautifully mundane. Often working in fumage, a technique using candle and lamp soot, his works have been exhibited in Brisbane and Melbourne. Outside the studio, he works as a picture framer, handling some of Brisbane’s most recognised artists’ works.
