Paula Friis is a multi-disciplinary Auckland based artist whose practice revolves around a library of shapes built up over several years. These shapes have been extracted from drawings, defined by colour and spontaneously selected, layered and juxtaposed in attempts to bring about a sense of pareidolia; the phenomenon that causes people to see Jesus in toast or dragons in cloud formations (think Rorscharch ink blot tests). 

Paula is interested in pseudo psychological dabbling and attempting to work out where the line lies in creating definitive figures and objects and leaving enough room for the engagement of pareidolia to instinctively take place.

 

In 2018 Paula completed a Masters of Fine Art (Hons) at Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design. Recently she has exhibited in Demo and Lot 23 and was a Wallace Art Awards finalist in 2017.

 

Paula’s current work grapples with a self- imposed encounter between hard edged painting and the low art hobbies of needle punching and embroidery.