Anna Dibble: Artist Statement – July 2025

My work is grounded in landscape, and in the wild, driven by how alienated from the ‘natural world’ we have become and what has occurred because of this. It’s an imaginary, often humorous narrative about life on earth: from animals and plants in early oceans recorded in layers of rock to a possible future of evolved geography and amalgamated beings. It’s a personal mythology in an alternative world of non-linear, circular time. I’m interested in peculiar juxtapositions, contradictions, and also the interconnections between every living thing and how they influence our lives. Into the studio I carry these interests, life as a child in a rural place, my reading about natural and human history, and my concern for what we have done to earth’s atmosphere and its inhabitants. Then, in that special workspace, I try to tame the monkey mind, and translate the fascinations subconsciously through the use of materials and tools, ideally tapping into the mysterious inside of who I am.

The current series, ‘Requiem’ emerges from our crises, affecting the waters, lands, atmosphere, and everyone alive – from plankton to primate. These paintings are inspired by the sense that all living beings are refugees of a kind. We’re lost in the dark in many ways, blindly searching for something elusive, and
not often finding it. The absurdity of human existence! The work also addresses our strong biological urge to survive, hold hope and curiosity close to our hearts, and keep trying to follow unanswered questions, no matter the odds.