Cosmic Nature: darkness to light

Artworks

• image 0 (2026) — There are many types of identities an artist will go through to be able to find themselves with this exhibition. You see this transition of a point of the artist (s) life where there was something dark in their past and overtime they overcome their struggles with their trauma from their past. Every single artwork is nature related because with nature, the artist is blossoming to something new. Throughout the different materials throughout the exhibition, there's a sense of identity with the different brush strokes, how the subjects are placed, even though there are no human subjects it's the feelings behind the artwork that matter. We start off the exhibition of Cozy Cabin artwork drawn and painted with inkwash by Aspyn Black (2024). Here the function of Cozy Cabin is to embark the journey of Aspyn’s traumatic journey throughout her childhood and how this artwork functions, as a sinister and haunted feel to the cabin with the limited light from the moonlight and stars. The viewers on this artwork could feel a warped perspective with the heavy and dark outlines of the cabin that a specific event took place. Next, we transition to a lighter artwork even though the artwork looks unfinished to the viewer it serves as there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This artwork, Underwater Adventure, Aspyn Black, 2025, Sketch. This sketch shows that the artist's journey is a work in progress. That there is not a definitive line when healing through a traumatic event from childhood. Moving forward throughout the exhibition we see Lone Jellyfish, another artwork created by Aspyn Black in 2021. In this artwork the viewer might feel a sense of sadness with the blue that is represented in the drawing. The artist wanted to capture a vulnerability with the raw unedited version of the drawing to give the artwork a more sense of feeling. The jellyfish itself is a symbol that the journey of the artist is still forming and that the color is another gateway in the passage of healing and that even though a jellyfish has a softer shell illuminating that vulnerability it can also fight back, showing its strength with its stingers. Onto the next artwork transitioning the darkness of black and white to a more colorful artwork. Iris, Aspyn Black, 2026, is a more delicate sketch of two iris plants that the artist has rooted in exploration of their identity but also blossoming and becoming a new sense of self. The color purple is one of the most vibrant of colors with its meaning symbolizes power and a deep respect, while green while not being as vibrant when made from plants to paint the color green symbolizes growth and balance representing harmony and to reduce stress. The artist is taking their power back from the traumatic event and then forming it to something new. We finish off the exhibition with Fairy Bowser Rorschach, 2012, Ben Quility, Oil on Linen is the most colorful out of all the artworks. The viewer might notice that even though this artwork is more on the vibrant side, it’s symbolizing the symmetry and how unsettling it can be. Quility created this work with one canvas and pressed it onto another canvas, creating the distorted look you see on the painting. This artwork also represents that a healing journey is not as straight forward that even when there’s light there still is darkness.
• Cozy Cabin, Aspyn Black, 2024, ink wash 23 x 16 in (2026) — In Cozy Cabin the cabin itself is not in the middle creating unbalance and asymmetry but with the path and the other tree in the middle ground it creates the balance of the drawing being unbalanced, making the cabin its focal point. The artist uses value contrast to define a clear focal point, with the cabin standing out because of the sharp linear details with the ink that contrasts the softer textures of the surrounding nature. The drawing is monochromatic and contemporary with the different textures in the artwork and that this artwork is in a modern era. The artwork portrays a coziness to it, but not through warmth but as stability. The cabin creates an anchor, against the swirling, chaotic energy of the night sky and mountains. With the artist using ink wash the artwork feels sad because of the colors they used and with the darkness up with the cabin that something traumatic must have happened and with the night sky giving another layer of sadness, anytime the artist would enter the cabin darkness would unravel..
• Underwater Adventure, Aspyn Black, 2025, Sketch, 9 x 11in (2026) — In the sketch, Underwater Adventure, there are three fish swimming in all sorts of directions symbolizing that they are in a fork in the road or they do not know what path they are on and how it will take them throughout their life, but also creates upward movement, leading the eye from the book and clam towards where the fish and bubbles are. The clam with the pearl almost looks almost out of place but with the cracked top gives it another meaning that the artist has a story to tell while trying to be carefree, they struggled to get where they are today. The sketch while uses asymmetrical balance with how heavy the bottom of the sketch is with the book and the detailed clam, it also creates a complex narrative through what the artist felt in that exact moment, and that it lies in clarity, with the empty fishbowl emphasizing that a true adventure happens when one looks beyond what has been written. The meaning behind the artwork is the memories that were created before the artwork and it symbolizes through the artwork like with the Jane Austen book and what the artist and her mom do on every Christmas, the artwork itself is an homage to her mother.
• Lone Jellyfish, Aspyn Black, May 2021, Sketch, 8 x 5in (2026) — Lone Jellyfish, shows one singular jellyfish that the figure characterizes its long flowing nature, and its flowing tentacles beside the body of the jellyfish showing an ‘s’ shape repeatedly depicting repetition. Small starfish and bubbles are scattered all over the page that surround the jellyfish, and the entire artwork is drawn and shaded by a blue colored pencil. blue represents solitude and the focal point, it also shows a clear sign of emphasis with how big the flowing jellyfish is. The artist used the blue pencil in the artwork to establish a clear hierarchy making the lone jellyfish feel more distinct of that loneliness within the bare environment.The soft rounded shapes of the jellyfish and the nearby pointless starfish reinforce the mood of gentleness but also vulnerability as the jellyfish drifts through the sea. The beauty of a jellyfish has many interpretations when its being created in an artwork like how the softness of the jellyfish also has a double meaning and it tells a story of how jellyfish have a soft outer shell since they have no bones or any armor to them but are survivors, representing that being seen as soft and flexible doesn’t make you weak. Another interpretation is that with the stingers of a jellyfish, it's a clear warning meaning that beauty can be deceptive but boundaries should always be respected.
• Iris, Aspyn Black, March 2026, Sketch with colored pencils and painted with watercolor paints made from plants (green and purple), 8 x 5 in (2026) — In this painting and sketch of Iris, there are two iris flowers one being taller and the other shorter giving the artwork itself depth and something to focus on since the artwork has a limited color palette, and with the shading being a darker color purple on the flower petals to give it another layer of dimension. The dark and expressive outlines define the petal shapes, creating a sharp contrast against the soft washes of color. The vertical orientation of the two iris plants follows the rule of thirds, creating a balanced but also asymmetrical botanical study, giving it a more intimate feel. This artwork also feels like a botanical study because of the way the iris flower is drawn and painted in very lightly and how the page is like in a journal with the crease down the middle on the left side of the picture.The iris flower with its vibrant colors symbolize hope, and valor because each spring the flower blooms it represents resilience and bright days ahead, the artist is blooming becoming their own person and turning a new leaf in their life. The color purple is one of the most vibrant of colors with its meaning symbolizes power and a deep respect, while green while not being as vibrant when made from plants to paint the color green symbolizes growth and balance representing harmony and to reduce stress.
• Fairy Bowser Rorschach, 2012, Ben Quility, Oil on Linen, 240 x 520cm, 8 panels (2026) — In Ben Quility’s artwork the Fairy Bowser Rorschach there are eight different panels that come together as one painting, and the painting mirrors itself. The fountain in the middle which is inspired by the rorschach’s psychological inkblot tests give the artwork a more sinister feel with the repetitive panels. The fountain in the middle is the focal point because it is straight down the middle and it has a different color palette than the rest of the painting has. This painting also has symmetry since each side is exactly the same and it makes the painting feel unified with all the balance that was brought into this painting. The mirrored image has a double meaning while the scene looks beautiful it has a dark and sinister past. While this spot that was painted is very known for its scenery it is also believed to be the spot where the 1832 massacre took place. It highlights the irony of it all and is why the artist made it look distorted .It avoids being a mere literal depiction of a tragedy and instead of using the tragedy materiality, the physical weight and bruised texture of the paint to make the viewer feel the sense of unresolved urgency and uneasiness, and the darkness hidden between the beautiful facade of the painting. He destroyed the romanticized tourist spot to highlight the dark Australian colonized history. He forces acknowledgement of the scene that is more than some pretty landscape since it killed many women and children.