6 Questions with Gabriela Soelkner

6 questions, a tiny interview with artists, makers and creative folks.

When I think of Gabriela, I think of her impossibly rich internal world. Her innate curiosity and wonder practically emanates from her whenever we sit down for coffee or chat over an install. Gabe always strikes me as such an old soul, but there is a youthful lightness to her also, an effortless energy that suggests a genuine connection with all that surrounds her.

Working across a range of media, from printmaking, drawing, painting and collage, Gabriela's work appears to have sediments; layer upon layer of memory, story, physicality and consideration. Intuition and knowledge converge in her work, rich marks seem ancient, with human forms and abstraction fusing to create mythological fables and archetypal characters. To look at her work often feels like you are witnessing hidden parts of yourself, mirrored back to you in shape, colour and formation.

Sadly, Gabriela's beloved forest studio succumbed to the recent floods here in Northern NSW, but I encourage you to watch the Youtube clip at the end of this piece, to get a glimpse of her process and studio, which was filmed as part of her exhibition ROCK FACE at the Tweed River Art Gallery in 2020-21.

 

My name is......Gabriela Soelkner

I live in...... a wood and stone handmade 40 year old home in the forest up on Wollumbin next to a World Heritage National Park in Australia.

 

Question No.1

If there is one thing I believe in.....it would be the capability of nature.

 

Question No.2

Each day I complete this one ritual, action or routine.......I make a piccolo and sit looking at the old growth forest on the other side of our valley.

 

Question No.3

I desire.......to be courageous.

 

 Question No.4

Before I die, I would like to.......know there is no real death.

 Question No.5

The book that changed my life......I don’t remember the title but I was 10 and it was about sharks . I have loved them ever since . It also seeded an awareness of evolution and the immensity of time and the universe . Sharks were around before dinosaurs !! 

 

 Question No.6

The wisest words ever said to me were...…so many….. but follow your heart stands out .

 

Optional Question No.7 

One thing most people do not know about me is that I.....have fears and feel ashamed that they can exist when I have experienced so much beauty and love.   I find being human not that easy sometimes, I lost my owners manual on arrival .