Samantha Everton: Indochine

Indochine depicts a woman navigating the conflicting cultural pressures of the East and the West. Exuding vivid sensuality, the artworks plunge the viewer into a colour-saturated dreamscape. The series explores the encroachment of Western fashion within Asian cultures and the struggle for authenticity amidst contemporary influences.

Behind the amplified colouration and ornamental intricacies are symbolic elements that offer clues to the underlying stories. Revealing fragility and adaptability, vulnerability and resilience, the women depicted are torn between the cultural values and expectations of their times and a deep interior struggle towards individuality.

Informed by the artist’s multicultural upbringing, Indochine touches on the methods available to women to express a changing cultural identity by altering their appearance. Presumed to be a relatively new phenomenon, the artworks explore how this blending of Eastern and Western cultures has been happening perceptibly for centuries.

Born in Whyalla, South Australia, and raised in central Queensland, Everton graduated from RMIT and has exhibited across Australia and internationally. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Px3 Paris International Photography Award (2010, 2014), Moran Contemporary Art Prize (Highly Commended 2009), Olive Cotton Photography Prize (Finalist 2011), London International Creative Competition (Finalist 2010) and the Head On Portrait Award (Third Place 2015).