Wendy Sharpe, 3 Fates with Suburban Street, 2023. Oil on linen, 122 x 137cm. Photography: John Fotiadas. Courtesy: the artist and King Street Gallery on William, Sydney.

“I am intrigued by the ripped layers of advertising posters in the Paris Metro. A woman drinking coffee is torn back, to reveal a child on a swing. A train winding through a snowy landscape is ripped away to uncover a screaming crowd at a rock concert.

I am reminded of pentimento, a term in painting, where as paint ages and becomes transparent, an image hidden beneath is finally visible.
Multiple images take us beyond the surface of things, suggesting alternate scenarios, secrets or hidden truths.

The meaning of each painting is open-ended, allowing the viewer to engage with the work on a subjective level, and to create their own narratives based on personal experience.

This exhibition includes paintings of the 3 fates: who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life and the wheel of fortune, symbolising the capricious nature of fate, spun at random. Both express the idea our lives are largely determined by factors beyond our control, such as luck, timing, and circumstance.

The Wheel of Fortune is also a reminder of the countless alternate paths our lives could have taken, if different choices or circumstances had been in play. This ‘what if’ question is one that haunts many of us, and reflects the inherent uncertainty and mystery of life itself.” – Wendy Sharpe, 2023.

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