Sage Blake Rivers
Recognizing oneself
These large-scale works are my raw vibes - they involve ritualistic methods of engagement between my mind, my body, the canvas and mediums. I use my body, brushes and rollers to anchor myself to a process of emotive responses and transfer these onto the canvases through action. Left on the surface are remnants and echoes of bodily movements, encapsulating my queer language. A conglomerate of responses become marks - I pour, splash and flick the paint as well as slip and push myself, graphite sticks, rollers or brushes through the paint on the canvas. Creating body markings with paint on a large surface is transformative & therapeutic. Toxic cultures within our society take away our autonomy of being experimental, playful, connected and grounded to our desires, dreams, and the body. Our bodies are valid, precious, and gorgeous. This method of creating is therapy for my mind and my body.
By creating this work, I am giving myself permission to feel, to see, to process anxiety and fear, to live, to breath, to love. I give myself permission to overcome “the void” - the space internally full of apprehension. These canvases welcome me to explore my LGBTQIA+ gender and sexuality, my body, my creative flow. An embodiment of my true self - of thought, action, play and truth. The wholesome connection of immersing myself in my work in this way - body, mind, gender - is an experience freeing me from the oppression of social cultures. Leaving behind messages pertaining to fat-shaming enables me to reconnect with my strong, creative, beautiful body.
I welcome you into this raw & passionate journey.
Sage Blake Rivers
Sage is an Australian artist working on Gadigal Wangal Country in Sydney’s Inner West. As an interdisciplinary artist, they reside in a space of exploration creating works in photography, video, sculpture, installation, performance and painting. Their diverse, rhizomic approach enables their neurodivergent mind to explore topics such as the body, gender and sexuality, memory and time, social, political and natural environments; influenced by lived experience, culture and socio-political dynamics.
Sage’s work has been exhibited in Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Sydney and surrounds, and Tokyo. She has been an artist in residence at Culture at Work Pyrmont and Hill End NSW. In 2016, she was awarded the Janice Reid Emerging Artist Award at the Western Sydney University Sculpture Award. Sage is currently studying Art History and Gender Studies at The University of Sydney.
Sage previously exhibited under names now considered necronames.
