HOLD
Photo: Mim Stirling
A thick dust settled over time, a dim space only inhabited by web spinners and scurrying feet, low-lit by a dirty cracked window and single bare bulb. A space of work, lay dormant as the next generation grew. The corners and crevices shrouded in cobwebs, sitting alongside the tack. The spider creeping up the woven rope and making home amongst the bygone, as a gush of wind under the doors forces dried and crackly leaves to blow into a pile against a sheet of corrugated metal. Hardwood, rusted steel, concrete floor and broken glass, time held in materials, memories absorbed into the blanketing layers of dust. A rusticity formed by use. A mouse makes a dash across the space, passing several forty four gallon drums, filled with more tack, slipping in the dust and leaving scratch mark evidence of the tumble. Another speedy scurry and into the leaves, out of sight, just as the door swings open and the bulb illuminates. This shed encapsulates an earlier life on the farm, one where Richardson would ride alongside and help with the cattle steering, horseback stock work as a part of an upbringing on this holistically run beef farm. The woven ropes, like the woven silk webs, a means to live on the land, to work it, to make a home through connecting with the horses. Richardson is also able to connect to her family through the careful observation and appreciation of the material and objects that enable the day to day running of the property. I imagine a younger Richardson, less aware of the creepy crawlies and slithering visitors, playing amongst the ropes and saddles, a call from the house and in for dinner. A spider spotting a fly, stuck and awaiting its final act while a mouse avoids the same fate. The seasons shift, the farm continues year on year and now Richardson is taking stock in the shed, this show as another coming of age. These drawings give Richardson a means to revisit her childhood, to look to her previous generations, they also enable her to project forward into her next phase. She yells out to her children to come in from the shed, while introducing them to a life on this special land.
Richardson, as a young child submitted drawn proposals to move into the tack shed. She loved everything about this space and the life it represents. The shed happens to be a second-hand Nissen hut from World War I, built on the family farm in the 1950’s. Richardson dreamed of riding her horse to school and as a teenager her best friend was her horse, Charlie. Her mother was the first female equine vet in Western Australia and her father played polo around Australia and New Zealand. Being on horseback is in her blood, the rhythm of being in the saddle has helped define her. Much of her time was spent cleaning tack and grooming the horses in order to get other family members out as riding companions. Life on the farm has slowly shifted away from the horses, the tack has stiffened and mould has set in. The critters are somewhat of a constant. Richardson is now considering how to move forward, her children and their cousins being the seventh generation to live on the farm on the Bindjareb Nyoongar country in the Peel region of Western Australia. These drawings being made in a different studio shed, with the background score of children running free on the property, singing and linking daisy chains. Richardson with a considered hand, a focus and dedication to both her drawing and the duties of the farm. These parallel practices feeding each other as the fly does the spider and the mouse does the snake. Richardson lacing her drawing with the life and loss on the farm.
These works are exquisitely rendered in charcoal on cement board, with subjects that almost defy drawing. I can’t help but admire the level of skill and patience required to draw some of the subjects Richardson selects. The items being those of utility on the farm as well as ones that enable a further connection to the life that Richardson shares the farm with. I remember we discussed how she would depict the cobwebs and even dust. The spiderweb works elicit the level of dedication to drawing that reminds me of the work of Latvian American artist Vija Celmins. Celmins having dedicated her career to realism including an obsessive and serial study of subjects such as the movement of water in the ocean, the light of stars in the night sky and even her own series of spiderweb drawings, paintings and print works. Richardson often uses a flattened perspective and plays with scale in order to express the ‘objectness’, to underline the subject, removed from its environment. We discussed the work of Robert Longo, the impactful quality of charcoal and how its materiality feeds into the drawing. Richardson’s works do this but they are also able to convey a textural and tactile quality through her meticulous skill. Cracked and dry leather, crunchy fallen leaves, wispy entanglements of cobweb and the fibres of woven rope. She is able to take us right into the coats of hair on mice or the ageing waxed coat of a farm jacket, hanging out and ready to be thrown on, to go and check the fences or move the cattle.
Cracked leather lifted from the dust, oiled and a groove found. Worn in and ready to kick up dust in the paddock, riding out as the next generation watches. The farm lives on, the shed stands proud, materials and memories held onto with pride and love. The ropes unwound and representing the family lineage in these lands, continuing to provide the equine connection. The bulb goes out, the mouse scurrying across the concrete as the spider drops down from above and continues the spin. The door is flung open, feet stomping to make her presence known. A life in and out of the shed, steady canter across the field, plotting out the day with time in the studio, days passing on knowledge to her children and as always, years furthering her connection to this special land and the animals it homes. ‘Hold’ is Richardson’s ode to passing on the knowledge and life on horses to her children, to connect generations through this dry and dusty shed of leather. Maybe it will be rebuilt and her kids will clean and oil in order to get her out and riding with them.
James Kerr, 2025
Richardson, as a young child submitted drawn proposals to move into the tack shed. She loved everything about this space and the life it represents. The shed happens to be a second-hand Nissen hut from World War I, built on the family farm in the 1950’s. Richardson dreamed of riding her horse to school and as a teenager her best friend was her horse, Charlie. Her mother was the first female equine vet in Western Australia and her father played polo around Australia and New Zealand. Being on horseback is in her blood, the rhythm of being in the saddle has helped define her. Much of her time was spent cleaning tack and grooming the horses in order to get other family members out as riding companions. Life on the farm has slowly shifted away from the horses, the tack has stiffened and mould has set in. The critters are somewhat of a constant. Richardson is now considering how to move forward, her children and their cousins being the seventh generation to live on the farm on the Bindjareb Nyoongar country in the Peel region of Western Australia. These drawings being made in a different studio shed, with the background score of children running free on the property, singing and linking daisy chains. Richardson with a considered hand, a focus and dedication to both her drawing and the duties of the farm. These parallel practices feeding each other as the fly does the spider and the mouse does the snake. Richardson lacing her drawing with the life and loss on the farm.
These works are exquisitely rendered in charcoal on cement board, with subjects that almost defy drawing. I can’t help but admire the level of skill and patience required to draw some of the subjects Richardson selects. The items being those of utility on the farm as well as ones that enable a further connection to the life that Richardson shares the farm with. I remember we discussed how she would depict the cobwebs and even dust. The spiderweb works elicit the level of dedication to drawing that reminds me of the work of Latvian American artist Vija Celmins. Celmins having dedicated her career to realism including an obsessive and serial study of subjects such as the movement of water in the ocean, the light of stars in the night sky and even her own series of spiderweb drawings, paintings and print works. Richardson often uses a flattened perspective and plays with scale in order to express the ‘objectness’, to underline the subject, removed from its environment. We discussed the work of Robert Longo, the impactful quality of charcoal and how its materiality feeds into the drawing. Richardson’s works do this but they are also able to convey a textural and tactile quality through her meticulous skill. Cracked and dry leather, crunchy fallen leaves, wispy entanglements of cobweb and the fibres of woven rope. She is able to take us right into the coats of hair on mice or the ageing waxed coat of a farm jacket, hanging out and ready to be thrown on, to go and check the fences or move the cattle.
Cracked leather lifted from the dust, oiled and a groove found. Worn in and ready to kick up dust in the paddock, riding out as the next generation watches. The farm lives on, the shed stands proud, materials and memories held onto with pride and love. The ropes unwound and representing the family lineage in these lands, continuing to provide the equine connection. The bulb goes out, the mouse scurrying across the concrete as the spider drops down from above and continues the spin. The door is flung open, feet stomping to make her presence known. A life in and out of the shed, steady canter across the field, plotting out the day with time in the studio, days passing on knowledge to her children and as always, years furthering her connection to this special land and the animals it homes. ‘Hold’ is Richardson’s ode to passing on the knowledge and life on horses to her children, to connect generations through this dry and dusty shed of leather. Maybe it will be rebuilt and her kids will clean and oil in order to get her out and riding with them.
James Kerr, 2025
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Anna Louise Richardson, Rope I, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 103 x 77 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Rope II, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 103 x 77 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Rope III, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 103 x 78 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Horseshoes, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 78 x 103 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Broken Window, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 93 x 63 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Spiderweb I, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 64 x 77 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Driz-A-Bone, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 78 x 41 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Leaves, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 41 x 77 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Spiderweb II, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 42 x 77 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Knot, 2025, Charcoal on cement fibreboard, 103 x 22 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Riding Boot, 2025, Charcoal on cut cement fibreboard, 50 x 65 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Moth I, 2025, Charcoal on cut cement fibreboard, 55 x 95 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Moth II, 2025, Charcoal on cut cement fibreboard, 44 x 88 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Mouse in Leaves, 2025, Charcoal on cut cement fibreboard, 62 (diameter) x 4.5 cm (deep)
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Anna Louise Richardson, Three Little Mice (Hiding), 2023, Charcoal on cut cement fibreboard, 55 x 90 cm
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Anna Louise Richardson, Three Little Mice (Sneaking), 2023, Charcoal on cut cement fibreboard, 55 x 180 cm
Anna Louise Richardson
b. 1992, Perth, Australia
Lives and works on Bindjareb Nyoongar Boodja outside Perth, Australia
Anna Louise Richardson is an artist based on Bindjareb Nyoongar Boodja in the Peel Region of Western Australia. Her practice focuses on drawing, exploring themes of parenthood, family relationships, intergenerational exchange, settler identity, and connection to place. Working primarily in charcoal and graphite on cement fibreboard, Richardson combines realism with flattened perspectives, cut-out shapes, and manipulated scale to amplify the subject matter.
Her work reflects her experience growing up on a multigenerational farming family and often draws from autobiographical narratives to explore themes of life, death, and the human-animal connection. Offering an intimate, grounded perspective on rural life, her drawings use animals, objects, and the land as metaphors for deeper emotional and existential themes.
A graduate of Curtin University in 2013, Richardson has developed a strong practice as both an artist and curator. Current projects include the 2024 TILT commission with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah at Goolugatup Heathcote, WA, and a national tour of her solo exhibition The Good, co-commissioned by Wagga Wagga Art Gallery and The Condensery, touring regional galleries across Australia until 2026. Recent exhibitions include When Night Falls at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (2020) and Still Watching, a collaborative survey with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah at Fremantle Arts Centre (2022). In 2023, she was the inaugural winner of the Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery and was a finalist in the 2020 Ramsay Art Prize.
b. 1992, Perth, Australia
Lives and works on Bindjareb Nyoongar Boodja outside Perth, Australia
Anna Louise Richardson is an artist based on Bindjareb Nyoongar Boodja in the Peel Region of Western Australia. Her practice focuses on drawing, exploring themes of parenthood, family relationships, intergenerational exchange, settler identity, and connection to place. Working primarily in charcoal and graphite on cement fibreboard, Richardson combines realism with flattened perspectives, cut-out shapes, and manipulated scale to amplify the subject matter.
Her work reflects her experience growing up on a multigenerational farming family and often draws from autobiographical narratives to explore themes of life, death, and the human-animal connection. Offering an intimate, grounded perspective on rural life, her drawings use animals, objects, and the land as metaphors for deeper emotional and existential themes.
A graduate of Curtin University in 2013, Richardson has developed a strong practice as both an artist and curator. Current projects include the 2024 TILT commission with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah at Goolugatup Heathcote, WA, and a national tour of her solo exhibition The Good, co-commissioned by Wagga Wagga Art Gallery and The Condensery, touring regional galleries across Australia until 2026. Recent exhibitions include When Night Falls at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (2020) and Still Watching, a collaborative survey with Abdul-Rahman Abdullah at Fremantle Arts Centre (2022). In 2023, she was the inaugural winner of the Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize at Hervey Bay Regional Gallery and was a finalist in the 2020 Ramsay Art Prize.
This project was supported by the Dept of Local Govt, Sports and Cultural Industries Western Australia.
Photography: Bo Wong & Mim Stirling
Photography: Bo Wong & Mim Stirling