Jacky Winter is pleased to present Memory Banquet by Carla McRae – a series of drawings and objects.

There is a soft part of my memory that I like to reach back to, where the food from the books and films I watched as a child are stored forever. A visceral formative feeling lives in the shape of a slice of bread, curve of a plate, plumpness of a cherry, a gingham picnic blanket. They are mental screenshots of deliciousness in form and colour.

Hailing from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Carla spent her childhood obsessing over cartoons and pop culture. She recalls these images, now detached from their original plot, like works of art that have resonated deeply within.

Embedded in her mind through repetition and obsession, years of watching and re-watching, tracing the forms and lines, and fantasising about flavours and textures, these humble vignetted meals have become more memorable than the narratives surrounding them.

Memory Banquet is a tribute to those nostalgic delicacies, explored through a series oil pastel drawings on paper and tactile wooden sculptures. In this new body of work, the balance of shape, colour, and negative space combines with texture and touch - familiar and tender. Memory Banquet is a contemplation and celebration of the profoundly simple joys that can shape how we feel, think and see.

Carla McRae is a Melbourne-based illustrator. Her drawings pull together a blank space with clean lines, geometric shapes and strong colour. Always working to create clear, simplistic and honest images, Carla’s work depicts open narratives inspired by the beauty of everyday moments, small gestures and simple pleasures.

From editorial, publishing, branding and apparel to large-scale mural projects and teaching programs, Carla has worked and collaborated with notable local and international clients, such as Sonos, Apple, Pentagram London, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Epworth Healthcare, Scape Student Living, Remedy Kombucha, Penguin Teen Aus, Air France Magazine, Frankie Magazine, City of Melbourne, Sydney Opera House, Smith Street Books, Smudge Publishing, Oxfam, International Womens Development Agency. She has exhibited extensively throughout Australia in both solo and group exhibitions.