An accomplished artist, Cathy Staughton’s distinctive personal style speaks volumes through her vibrant and direct way of working. Her paintings and drawings act as barometers of her moods, dreams and desires. Symbolic characters, such as robots and saintly figures embellished with Staughton’s vivid and idiosyncratic imagination, appear time and again, often reflecting a distinct good–bad dichotomy. Staughton also maintains a lifelong fascination with Luna Park due to family connections and endless childhood memories. Overtones of humour, pathos and nostalgia endow her work with gravitas.

Staughton has worked in the Arts Project Australia studio since 1989. She has presented four solo exhibitions in Australia and Belgium. She has exhibited in numerous group exhibitions, including at Melbourne Art Fair and the Museum of Everything at Selfridges, London. Her work is held in the MADmusée, Liège, and the National Gallery of Victoria.

— b. Melbourne, 1968