Leah Fraser

Born 1983, Sydney, Australia

Lives & Works – Sydney (Eora)

Leah Fraser creates lyrical paintings and ceramics that engage with history, magic and the unknown in their metaphorical visualisation of the 'waters of life'.  Drawing inspiration from folk mythologies, diverse cultures and children’s tales, Fraser’s paintings depict shaman-like characters travelling through mystic lands in search of spiritual metamorphosis. Decorated in ritualistic clothing and plants in a ceremonial splendour, the figures have a deep respect for and understanding of the natural world, prompting the viewer to contemplate their own (dis)connection with nature. The artist’s ceramic works physically invoke the world that that these spiritual beings inhabit, with votive figures and ‘magic bottles’ embodying objects of worship or items that might fill a magicians apothecary.

After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW, Fraser was granted an Art Production Residency in Arquetopia, Puebla Mexico (2012) and has regularly exhibited throughout Australia in solo and group shows. The artist has also been a finalist in a number of awards, including the Blake Prize for Religious Art (2014, 2009), the Moreton Bay Art Prize (2016), Kings Art Prize (2019) and the Portia Geach Memorial Award (2017).