Caroline Josephs' work is searching for a new 'story' - Australian Indigenous notions of 'country' meeting migrant sensibility. Sails of early migrant ships, tents and tarpaulins may be evoked by use of hemmed, eyeleted canvases.

Describing Caroline's work, her New York gallery has written that it is...

concerned with ecologies of place, of geo-spiritual locality - not broad strokes but textural details.  Many of her acrylic paintings and ink and pastel drawings reference Australian Aboriginal motifs, combined with startlingly unique, sometimes abstract, mystical symbolism.

The hybridized nature of contemporary life is portrayed by large figures and vivid surfaces made up of small detailed elements, with characters straddling thresholds and crossing boundaries, transporting us to a space between worlds where everything is in flux. We view these energetic images as though ’searching for a new story’. the effect is the richness of lives in many places at once.

Caroline’s grand-parents arrived in Australia as refugees from pogroms (Latvia, Ukraine) around World War I. Over thirty years she has explored cultures and stories with Aboriginal people (Arnhemland, south coast NSW, Central Australia, Brewarrina, Tasmania). Working closely with an Aboriginal Elder, a Yuin man, (over 30 years) she introduces people to walking in country, hearing stories -- as well as guiding participants into creative work arising from such embodied experiences. Caroline has been a Zen student for more than 25 years -- also a strong influence in the work.

Her doctoral research, completed 2006, explores how we get to ‘know’ through sacred oral storytelling, exploring the liminal zone of transformation evoked by such tellings. The research work included storytellings from Indigenous Yolgnu people, from the Judaic tradition, and from Zen. These preoccupations seep through the work. Primarily an artist, Caroline continues to be involved in storytelling, research, writing, and presentations -- with a focus on intercultural issues and their exploration through Art and learning.

Caroline has been represented by
Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, New York 10001
www.Agora-Gallery.com <http://www.Agora-Gallery.com>
www.Art-Mine.com <http://www.Art-Mine.com>