ABOUT
FIONA RAFFERTY ( 1955- )
Rafferty decided to return to fulltime study in 2007 after her youngest child celebrated his 21st birthday. In a sense it was a coming of age for them both and for Rafferty, it was also the realisation of a childhood dream.
Rafferty grew up in Geelong, Victoria, in a vibrant, multi-cultural, migrant community. The eldest of seven, she was greatly influenced by her family, particularly her extended patriarchal family in the UK. Rafferty studied Physical Education at Melbourne University and became a teacher at Geelong Grammar School before travelling to the UK and Europe. She spent the next decade in the UK, where her four children were born, until 1987 when Rafferty and her family relocated to Perth, Western Australia.
In 1994 Rafferty met Queensland based artist, Michael Challen. They worked together on a project titled "Land of Light", highlighting the remarkable beauty of the Australian landscape and issues concerning conservation and the environment. They travelled extensively to remote areas around Australia documenting the state of the environment through Challen's paintings and Rafferty's writing. The partnership ended in 2005 and Rafferty continued her environmental work with the Conservation Council of WA whilst completing her Bachelor Degree in Art as a mature age student. A scholarship enabled Rafferty to further her studies and she spent a year in London 2008/9.
In 1994 Rafferty met Queensland based artist, Michael Challen. They worked together on a project titled "Land of Light", highlighting the remarkable beauty of the Australian landscape and issues concerning conservation and the environment. They travelled extensively to remote areas around Australia documenting the state of the environment through Challen's paintings and Rafferty's writing. The partnership ended in 2005 and Rafferty continued her environmental work with the Conservation Council of WA whilst completing her Bachelor Degree in Art as a mature age student. A scholarship enabled Rafferty to further her studies and she spent a year in London 2008/9.
Rafferty now lives a life that enables her to become immersed in the landscape, geographically and culturally, of the places she chooses as residencies that inspire and inform her work. She has created work in Snowdonia National Park, Wales; the London Underground; cattle stations in Western Australia and the rainforest of Tamborine Mountain, Queensland. She has a studio in Fremantle, WA and is working on a project situated in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
