The Horse has Bolted, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 73cm x 60cm, Market Value: $1,200

SOLD AT AUCTION

Cath Lakshman was born 1970 in Brisbane, Queensland during a banana republic. The Lakshman's are cross cultural Anglo Indian (Fijian) Australians. So chops, curry, a vegetable garden with sugar cane hedges and so on.
 
Lakshman completed a Bachelor of Arts in Australian Social History and Media Theory at the University of Queensland in 1994. Cath began painting in 1996 using acrylic, pastel, oils and pen and ink. The artist has lived and worked in Melbourne, Brunswick and Ascot Vale for the past seven years.
 
Cath's art considers the issues confronting the marginalized and the disempowered in our society. Subjects of inspiration are the underdog; the underclass; the hidden history of a place, a person or a familiar object or a domestic scene. Themes of racial and sexual inequality are explored using views from daily life. Other themes include laws protecting workers; the two dimensional portrayal of race, ethnicity, gender. Lakshman is concerned with the disregard for the disabled, the mentally ill and old. The artist mourns the regressive attitude of the federal government towards the protection of the environment, indigenous rights and the rights of refugees and other cultural and ethnic minorities.
 
Lakshman depicts the absurd and the whimsical in order to discuss serious contemporary issues. She infuses a humanist sentiment into her work, using bold colour and unorthodox composition to evoke an honest emotional response in the viewer.
 
Above all, Cath Lakshman hopes to render images of hope and humour.