McIver Women's Baths - Coogee by Australian Artist Rachel Rae.
Located at the south end of Coogee Beach, the McIver Baths has sacred significance to local indigenous people as a bathing area and birthing place for women. But in 1876 the baths were developed by the Randwick Council, and ‘officially opened’ as a place for colonial women to bathe. After many challenges the significance of this space has remained as a women’s only space, but there were barriers put in place for the traditional owners to access their sacred land. I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land for whom it will always hold sacred significance.
I am attracted to painting the ocean pools and reflecting on the barriers we create in the landscape and life under the guise of safety. The barrier of the pool creates a safety net whilst allowing you to feel like you are immersed in the ocean and in nature. But when painting this landscape it is not the pool I am drawn to but the natural curves of the rocks and the ocean trying to wash over those barriers. With this painting I am also trying to immerse myself in the landscape but like the ocean I want to break down the barriers and structure I put on myself. As with the relationship between the viewer and the painting – instead of them looking at a 2D painting, the barrier is broken down and they can immerse themselves in the landscape too.
This original painting by Rachel Rae is painted in acrylic with a protective varnish on a deep stretched canvas and is ready to hang.
- Subject Matter: Ocean Pool - Seascape
- Collections: OCEANPOOLS, PRINTS