When Australian photographer and artist Anne Zahalka arrived in Berlin for her first artist residency in the mid 1980s, it was the depth of a European winter.

“[I was living in] this incredible old gothic hospital that had been converted into artists’ residencies,” Zahalka tells Broadsheet. It was a pivotal time for the artist, who created a number of portraits while in Germany, all of which reference paintings by the old masters, such as Rembrandt and Vermeer.

“[I was] trying to create images that spoke about people I was living with and working with, through the tropes of the 17th century,” she says.

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The artist – who is best known for her 1989 work The Bathers, created while in residence at Bondi Pavilion – likes to take familiar narratives, deconstruct them and convert them into stories that have personal significance, or highlight marginalised members of society.

A major survey of her work, Zahalkaworld, is open now at the National Art School (NAS). It features more than 100 pieces from her 40-year career, as well as items from her studio and archives. Here are five works the artist thinks you should seek out on your visit.

Room 4729, Hotel Suite, 2008

This image of a woman peering very closely at the wall of her hotel suite was created during Zahalka’s residency at the Sofitel Melbourne.

“I liked the suggestion of the hotel room as this space that opens up possibilities for adventure and escape,” Zahalka says. “But it could also be a place of alienation. It’s a kind of threshold space between home and somewhere else.” It’s part of a series that draws inspiration from films like Barton Fink and Rear Window, and Edward Hopper paintings.

“When you blow it up it’s almost like there’s a peephole, a little aperture that she’s looking through. You can see a clock on the table showing that it’s the witching hour, close to 12pm. The book on the chair, A Girl’s Own Adventure, ties in with her clothes. The red scarf around her neck, the pants, which are like culottes, and the belt are a little like what a girl scout would wear. It suggests movement and adventure.”

The Cleaner, 1987

The sitter, Marianne Redpath, was a performance artist and Zahalka’s friend. She had been working as a cleaner, and Zahalka chose to include a bucket to reference how the artist was supporting herself. The chequerboard floor, which Zahalka constructed out of melamine, and the drapery that frames the image, are direct nods to the style of the old masters, particularly Johannes Vermeer. But Zahalka’s images also feature her own symbols and meanings.

“The kiwifruit on the silver platter is a nod to Marianne’s roots [Redpath is from New Zealand]. The peeled lemon, which appears in a lot of the works, is this idea around deceptive appearances – a lemon is beautiful to look at but sour to taste. There is this deceptive game – they look like [works by] old masters, but in fact they are photographs, and it’s hard to place them in time. There are anachronisms, modern elements, that, when you find them, it’s almost [shocking]. Like the Walkman on her lap and the headphones around her neck.”

Wednesday 8.40pm 1995

This image features three friends living in a share house in Erskineville in the mid ’90s.

“I liked this interior because of the colouring, the richness of that red couch, and the dark walls, but it was also a very Australian weatherboard home. The composition, and the inclusion of still-life elements, are a reference to earlier works, as is the chequerboard on the table, which is like a mnemonic to the tile floors in the Dutch paintings. There are lots of analogue things, like the television and the sewing machine, which I’ve got a man in front of. I’m playing with different gender roles, or perhaps he’s just a new-age guy.”

Wanderer overlooking Jamieson Valley 1985

“The Blue Mountains is a place that I have a connection to. My mother used to go to the Hydro Majestic [in Medlow Bath], because it was like a European spa.” In this image, a lone figure, directly inspired by Casper David Friedrich’s famous 1818 work of romanticism Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, looks out over the landscape.

“I’ve always loved seeing the backs of people looking at something, and this engagement with what they’re looking at,” Zahalka says. “But this figure of Casper David Friedrich’s is a romantic figure, and [the painting is] a romantic way of seeing the landscape.”

Sunbather No.1 1989

“This is a portrait of a friend of mine, Emily, who swam at the beach daily. She almost had gills on the side of her neck. She was also a big reader. She was my muse, really.”

Emily is holding Marcel Proust’s novel Remembrance of Things Past. “I like the contrast between the European men depicted on the cover and the exposed female on the beach,” says the artist. “The contrast from Europe to Australia.

“One of the things that I do love is that she has hair under her arms,” Zahalka adds. “We didn’t need to shave to conform to sexist ideas of femininity. It’s not all that visible, but it’s a reminder for me of those times.”

Zahalkaworld – An Artist’s Archive is on now at NAS Gallery until October 19, 2024. Free entry.

nas.edu.au

All images courtesy the artist.