June 2008
'Counterfeit'
Mary Place Gallery, Sydney
April 2008
'High St Festival' collaboration
High St, Melbourne
February 2007
'Young Artists'
Kingswood, New York City
August 2005
'Flasher'
Blank Space Gallery, Sydney
2000-2004
School of Colour and Design
Sydney
1993-2000
Living and working abroad
New York City, Paris, London, Berlin
Australian born artist Tanya Linney began her love for photography, drawing and collage as a teenager. However a career in fashion meant that she spent the next 15 yrs travelling and experiencing the world through fashion eyes.
After her days as a model she studied design at The School Of Colour and Design and embarked on her creative journey exploring the issues that confronted her as an adolescent.
Her first exhibition ‘Flasher’ was held at Blank Space in Sydney in 2004 and was well received by her critics and peers. Linney has collaborated with leading designers including Kirrily Johnston, Sass and Bide and Ksubi on various projects that have been shown in Australia and New York City.
Linney's work explores the notion of reality and how we are lost in a space called fantasy. ‘The idea that humans don’t like reality, that we are programmed to choose impossible proportions both physically and psychologically not only reads in our modern culture but through history'. In her work she uses dolls and mannequins in real life situations to create a social commentary around the culturally accepted norms of body image and the celebrity obsession within society. Linney’s mannequins investigate the authenticity in today’s society of pop culture and perfection, the images expose the anxieties faced by women.
Linney’s work makes use of metaphorical objects including fake hair, stockings, coat hangers, makeup, ropes, plastic bags, masks, food and money which are contrasted with bright, colourful lighting. The effect created enables Linney to emphasize darker issues in a surreal, almost ironic way. There is always a tongue in cheek in her approach.
Sexual exploitation, female idealism, repression, age, beauty and role playing all play their own important role in the artist’s work, from the slicing of Playboy magazines and trash mags that created her collaged series of humour and sex to the distorted 'ugly drawings' of beautiful dolls and starlets to depict a warped perspective on beauty. Works also range from the disturbing to somewhat comical, including the ‘Alex’ series conveying the disjointed side of youth to the perfect family portrait of dolls raising questions around ideology and elitism.
Linney’s experience as both a model and a woman create a reflective authentic effect in all her work. The excessive use of the female body as a vehicle of many metaphors creates feelings of disjointed hope and confronts the viewer’s belief systems.
