image credit Greg Weight

Artist Statement

Kathrin Longhurst’s art draws deeply from her personal journey as a child of the Cold War, experiencing life on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Her early works are inspired by the stark contrast between war propaganda imagery and the glamorous promises of the West. By featuring ‘flying’ female warriors instead of traditional male figures of power, Longhurst reimagines war propaganda aesthetics to challenge the visual narratives imposed by patriarchal power structures. Her self-reflective approach aims to rewrite recent history, promoting a vision of a gender-equal future.

In the digital age, the concept of ‘volatility’ has evolved as the nuclear fears of the past have diminished. Longhurst’s interest in the ethics of progress drives her to explore the journeys of other women, seeking to understand the challenges faced by digital natives. She emphasises the importance of women’s struggles, often overlooked in historical documentation, as they provide valuable insights to avoid repeating past mistakes and any illusions about progress.

A well-respected member of the Sydney arts community, Kathrin Longhurst has served as vice president for Portrait Artists Australia and founded Project 504, an innovative art space promoting collaboration among Australian artists. By 2021, she had completed 18 solo shows and been a finalist in numerous prestigious awards, including the Archibald Prize, the Darling Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, the Doug Moran Prize, the Sulman Prize, the Percival Portrait Award, the Mosman Art Prize, the Portia Geach Award, the Shirley Hannan National Portrait Prize, and the WA Black Swan Prize. She won the 2021 Archibald Packing Room Prize, and her work is widely collected in Australia and internationally.