A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown
Parallel Planets presents Gemma Topliss
in Dream a Little Dream For Me
Story by Nicole Lane
Mentioned: watercolors, moleskins and drawing dreams
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Warmth, solitude and tenderness are simply a sample of the possible reverberations when viewing a Claude Monet or a Van Gogh. The two artists, brilliant and prominent, have their teeming canvases and delicate subject matters hanging in museums around the world. Van Gogh’s rough beauty and Monet’s “en plein air” (act of painting outdoors), are both on my mind when viewing the work of Gemma Topliss, an 18 year old artist hailing from Australia.
Utilizing Moleskins, watercolors, fine tipped pens and a gentle touch, Gemma blends her skills of drawing, painting and, most beautifully, the creation of identities within unknown worlds. Some of her work is sculptural, other times drawn on envelopes or even classically displayed on textured paper--her choices appear ethereal and elegant.
Gemma has, unquestionably, found her own unique style in her paintings and illustrations. In her Matryoshka doll piece called, “Nested Selves,” Gemma has painted each of the figures black with details shown in white or vice versa. The first doll, cloaked with a mountainous scene, has “I am the Earth” written on her side stating mythology and folklore within the collection of pieces. Gemma states on her blogspot that this doll “expresses a concrete relation to the natural world” while the smallest doll has the small text, “I am a ghost” which describes the hallucinatory role of human beings. Through these small dolls, Gemma reduces human beings to their natural state, the Earth. Each doll, fitting inside one another, would eventually hide the unconscious or elusive self inside of the largest doll.
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| Gemma Topliss |
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| by Gemma Topliss |
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| by Gemma Topliss |
Additionally, Gemma combines anatomy, astronomy and superstitious symbols which all come together to create photomontages and drawings which she creates in her sketchbooks. In some of her older sketches, Gemma utilizes grey/blue watercolor paint to texturize the background of the watercolor paper. She stains the background for additional aesthetic and paint studies. Sometimes, she creates tiny droplets which appear to be tears, rain or something otherworldly--possibly an apparitional being making its appearance. Her imaginative drawings appear to me as a dream, something I could possibly think up while I was asleep but a notion I am unable to remember once I awake. Gemma successfully translates the human imagination and unconscious to truth and certainty.
I look at all of Gemma’s work this way--dreamlike, mystical, natural. Her thin, light brush strokes detail the serene state that these characters live in, a place that the viewer would love to be. Those in urban settings, like myself, feel a sense of nostalgia for open fields and swimming holes when viewing Gemma’s work. I have the pleasure of following Gemma on Tumblr where I have been able to see her transformation, especially now that she is attending RMIT University. She is beginning to utilize wood canvases for mythological figures and manila envelopes for personal projects about her Ukrainian grandmother. Both of these new styles are exciting and seem to be refining Gemma’s overall vision for what her future work may be.
Taking a peek at Gemma Topliss’ artwork will indefinitely make you feel both bright and beautiful.
More from Gemma Topliss
Thank you for sharing Gemma's work. Especially her sketchbooks...that was a true pleasure getting to peruse through them. Excellent work!
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