Dina Broadhurst
Golden Girl and mixed media artist, Dina Broadhurst, exposes the hidden truth behind her art’s take on femininity, sexuality and her small army of pristine beauties.
From Down Under, we got candid with Aussie native Dina Broadhurst on her love for the outdoors, her desire to uncover the truths of still life and why the 90s stole the show. Growing up just south of Sydney, Australia on a waterfront property in Kangaroo Point, it was no surprise her outdoorsy love as a child grew up with her. “My favorite pastime is always the sun and being outdoors. Beaches, walls, landscapes, nature,” reminisced the artist.
Those childhood memories, past and present experiences, immediate surroundings and her intimate relationships all shape the inspiration evident in the art we currently love and look forward to. Proving that inspiration comes from a very personal place within Broadhurst, it is also the relationship with herself both physically and emotionally that you see etched in her work. “Love, passion, desire, and acceptance are a huge inspiration,” noted the artist. “Art to me is about expression, exposing yourself, diving deep within, breaking through your barriers, growth, and accepting all kinds of light and dark in the world.” Introducing us to a reborn genre of artistic genius true of this digital age, her style uses photography and collage to create layers of contrast meaning links and contrasts. “Each work is like an emotional map, an uncovering or a discovery while concealing the distractions of the obvious. I'm drawn to this style because photography typically depicts a scene from life, a split second in time, a reality; but it is never what it seems. Sometimes it is set up, sometimes it is only one perspective, sometimes truths are left out. And collage editing and manipulation afterward to my works further emphasizes that photography is not as real as it is initially perceived. Neither is a person at face value. And that is what I love to uncover and delve into. I love contemporary art and have always had an obsession with pop art.”
Authentically quirky with an obsession to wet wipes this brunette bombshell is to our surprise extremely shy. “Being shy you often feel like an outsider or that it’s hard for people to get in and know the real me. It felt very humbling [when my art gained recognition]. I felt a huge sense of pride and purpose and I felt understood in a way I had never felt before. I realized that my art suddenly gave people that access to me that they hadn’t been able to achieve before in the usual social settings or friend relationships. They could get past the walls I usually held up high, through my art,” exposed Broadhurst. First experiencing the draw as a young adult, it was Broadhurst’s art teacher, Miss Beare, that she deems her eye-opener to the art world. “It was always what I was drawn to in family friend's homes or on holidays in new places, [but it was Miss Beare that] made it seem so personal and so accessible. Telling me what was on locally and what artist she had just bought at the time. If only I had done the same,” smiled the stylist turned artist.
At home in the laid-back, outdoor lifestyle of Sydney, it was the likes of Milan that earns its stature as the most fashion-forward circuit Broadhurst has experienced. “I love the style, the architecture, and the hidden gems. Fashion is a big influence on my art as it’s something that holds such strong memories and moments in my life. Fashion is what you use to express yourself and the face you put on for the world. And fashion photography introduced me to fine art photography and I love the cross over and seeing fashion photographers being able to express their creativity in such a tangible medium of fashion. I see high-end luxury fashion the same as I do sculpture. It is wearable art in many ways.” So we had to know what era influences the artistic designer’s fashion: “I love 90s minimal and simplicity.”
It is that simplicity that weighs into her wardrobe. “Simple. Quality. Quite minimal and a little mix of both feminine and masculine,” is how she describes her style. Privy to a groomed and filled brow, the minimalist practices a natural makeup with flushed pink cheeks and lips, glowing skin and a curled lash with black mascara. You will most likely spot this beauty in a pair of jeans or jumper with a knock out heel. Growing as a public figure for more reasons than one, Broadhurst intends to keep her passion for art at the forefront, revealing “A lot more painting to be involved in works and editing and obliterating images to even more abstraction. I am also working on a coffee table art book and an enlarged Polaroid series.”
