The Intriguing Interpretations of Tarli Bird

Art Lovers | 29 March 2023

Written by Amelia Pontifex

“I’m interested in allowing the viewer to be intrigued by what they might see, to simplify the works into forms, texture and colour and allow a space for them to interpret the works as they wish.”

Based in regional Victoria, Tarli Bird’s pieces reflect vast and open spaces – something that’s quintessential to the Australian landscape. Raised by an artist, Tarli has always been inspired to experiment with materials, colours and textures. Her pieces of open spaces can be attributed to her love for varied landscapes, changing weather, locations and environments. Growing up around regional Victoria, Tarli became very observant on how these spaces changed throughout the year depending on crops or seasons and rainfall. Her time, respect and observations of different locations and landscapes is visible in her work and make each piece unique.

Tarli Bird

“My practice is based around creating landscape paintings and artworks inspired by my experiences of visiting locations and maps. I love travel, exploring and looking at maps. I am actually hopeless at reading maps and am always getting lost when using them so I look at them aesthetically not practically.”

Urban Landscape – Flinders Ranges | 70 x 100cm, Mixed media on printmaking paper

Tarli is often inspired by the photos she takes as documentation. She spends time with the images she takes, spending time with the elements by breaking down the forms and using her memory to respond On a recent trip to Morocco, Tarli took many photos of her experiences, the arid land she saw and the open flat spaces. It is often the colours and variations that she finds fascinating in these new spaces. She will often break down the images into more abstract parts before creating a work.

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She will then spray paint a grid over the piece, adding layers and depth to the piece. The grid also represents structure and order and how we might structure our natural environments or structure how we view and interpret thing to make them make sense. After the grid has been applied, she will begin to sew. She then embroiders and sews texture into the pieces.

“I like to simplify images down into colour, shapes and texture, breaking down landscapes through the camera, then breaking down the photo into an abstract form then breaking them down again yet keeping true to the beauty of the original place and wanting to preserve that beauty for the viewer.”

Urban Landscape: Mt Ossa | 150 x 100cm, Acrylic and mixed media on stretched canvas

Tarli attributes her skills to her training and education. She studied a Bachelors, Honours and Masters of Visual Art at Monash University in Melbourne. She majored in printmaking in her Bachelors degree and in her Honours and Masters, her artwork was more mixed media and installations.

“Having a printmaking background my work early on were prints: etchings and screen prints. As my work became more about travelling communicating landscapes and feelings of spaces I wanted to be more expressive and began to experiment with paint; both acrylic and spray paint. Hand sewing has been something that has been consistently in my art practice. Early on I was using it in my prints to create pattern. I then was using thread more conceptually to comminate a passage of time compared to using a number to express time. Now thread is important in creating texture in my work. I like how the thread grabs your attention when you walk past my work, similar to in nature a slight change in colour/tone.”

Urban Landscape – Katherine Gorge | 70 x 100cm, Mixed media on printmaking paper

There a lot of research that goes into Tarli’s works. She researches locations, land and colours. The colour palette of a location will often determine if she will go there and if she will paint it.

“I’m attracted to visiting places with interesting colour palettes, the soil and desert whether it’s Kakadu or Kenya. I consider how I’m feeling in these spaces too. I use a lot of intense colours to communicate how I’m feeling in that environment. I’m certainly aware of my feelings and interested in what kinds of emotions the viewer might draw on to feel too when seeing my art.”

Urban Landscape: Mt Bogong Red Canvas | 91 x 91cm, Acrylic and mixed media on stretched canvas

Tarli notes a number of influences on her work. The dynamic movement and mediums of Julie Mehrutu’s pieces, the layering and depth of Claude Monet’s works, and the aspects of what makes each new locations space unique. The colours, the heat, the dryness or the seasons. These foundational elements of Tarli’s research show her interest in capturing moments that remind us of our present moment.

Visit Tarli’s shop