Sian Watson

Opposing Gaze
Grainger Gallery Nov 16 2023

Opposing Gaze is a collection of figurative sculptures that explore the relationship humans have with
the natural landscape. Artist Sian Watson prompts contemplation on how we perceive people’s place
in the ecological landscape – whether we are integrated or a separate entity. She invites the observer
to contemplate the figurative sculptures, their gazes directed towards the surrounding environment,
offering a profound experience of spectatorship, wherein one not only observes the art but also the
act of looking itself.
The rusted surface is symbolic of the intersection between human-made and natural
environments, which intentionally echo the processes of deterioration, change and the passing
of time. A few sculptures have a pop of yellow that evoke attention to the viewer’s gaze in an act of
looking and questioning.
Formerly based in Canberra, Watson now creates work from her studio in Adelaide. She graduated
with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (First Class Honours) from ANU in 2015 and continues to exhibit
actively across Australia. Watson is widely collected and featured in the permanent public art
collections of ArtsACT and NSW Mid-Western Regional Council. Recently, she was the recipient of
the Sculpture by the Sea Clitheroe Emerging Artist Mentor Award and the CAPO Rosaline Gascoigne
Memorial Award.