Margarita Ceko

Lives and works in Gold Coast QLD, Australia

Artist statement

My practice begins with observation. I document moments in contemporary life when character, social codes, habits, humour and private psychology become visible through ordinary situations. I am drawn to what people reveal without intending to, and to the small contradictions between how we present ourselves and how we actually live. My approach is shaped by a lifelong background in classical music. As a violinist, I learned to enter the language of each composer rather than forcing every piece through the same manner of playing. I bring the same principle to visual art. Each subject asks for its own colour, texture, level of detail, distortion and medium, and I choose those elements according to the effect the work needs. My experience as a natural fitness bikini athlete also informs the way I look at the body: as something trained, shaped, presented, controlled and read by others. Across painting, sculpture and photography, I use whatever visual language serves the particular observation, allowing the subject to determine the form of the work.

Artwork